


Fight For Me

by tellingtouch



Category: Legacies (TV 2018), hosie - Fandom
Genre: Caring Josie Saltzman, Endgame Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman, F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Magic, Protective Hope Mikaelson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 61,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24760393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellingtouch/pseuds/tellingtouch
Summary: When you care for someone, you will always fight for them. No matter if that is physically or emotionally. You will always be there.Hope and Josie will always fight for each other.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 306
Kudos: 449





	1. Fighter

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea started so differently. By the time I started to work on it, it started to morph into something, that I hope is better!
> 
> As I am addicted to music and I get my best ideas from songs, each chapter is attached to a song.

** Song: Fighter by: Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood **

** 10 Years Old/12 Years Old **

Whenever Josie needed to get away for a while and have some time to think in the quite, she would go out to the dock near the lake. It was beautiful out there and not many people came out here. They preferred to hang out in the old mill instead.

Today, Josie was sitting with her journal, just writing about everything that had happened that day. Think back on it, she was still shocked.

******

She had been having lunch alone due to the fact that Lizzie had to complete a makeup test. She hated eating alone, but it was just for one day. She had brought a book that she had been reading so she could have something to do.

About half way through lunch, a group of girls, you know the ones, the mean ones that think that they rule the school, came over and all sat around Josie.

“Look at this loser.”  
“She’s such a loser not even her own sister wants to sit with her at lunch.”

“She is such a nerd. Who reads when they don’t have to?”

Josie didn’t want to get upset and her mom had always told her to just walk away from mean girls. She placed her book mark into her book and stood up to walk away. She refused to lower herself to their level.

The head mean girl, grabbed her tray and pushed it into her shirt. This caused the gaggle of girls to break out in laughter.

Josie was on the verge of tears. She was barely holding them back, but she didn’t want to cry in front of them and give them anything else to laugh at her for.

“Apologize, now!”

Looking up, the group of girls saw Hope Marshall walking towards them. The girl in charge just smirked.

“And what if we don’t?”

“Then you can deal with me.”

“Oh, I’m so scared.”

Looking at Josie, Hope frowned. Seeing the younger girl so dejected because of these girls was strike one.

The older girl waved her hand and cleared all of the mess off Josie’s shirt. However, instead of making it disappear, she created a triple amount. With a flick of her wrist, she flung it at the group of girls, muttering another series of spells.

The head girl waved her hand to clean herself off. Nothing happened. The other two witches tried the same, and again nothing happened. They attempted to remove the sweaters that they were wearing over their shirts, and they wouldn’t come off.

“What did you do you stupid bitch?”

Hope glared at the girls. That was yet another strike for the girls. They really didn’t want to get to three.

“Nothing that you didn’t do first. I’m just smart enough to make it stick.”

Josie’s eyes were as big as saucers. She couldn’t believe that Hope was helping her. But what she didn’t understand was why. Why would she help her? They weren’t friends, not really. She never really spent time or talked with the twins.

Not that Josie was complaining. She was grateful for the help, and honestly, she has had a crush on Hope for years.

“Hey Jo, are you ok? Do you want to finish your lunch with me?”

“Um, yes. I would like that if it is ok.”

Smiling, Hope picked up the brunette’s tray, waving her hand to replace the ruined food and they started to walk over to the table that no one sat as, since everyone knew that Hope sat there.

Just as Hope turn around, after placing Josie tray down, she raised her hand to catch the apple that had been flying towards her head. She had honestly tried to walk away.

“And that was strike three.”

Ten minutes later, Lizzie came in the dining hall closely followed by three staff members and her father.

She looked around and when she saw the adults run past her, grabbed the first student she saw.

“What happened?”

“Oh man, you missed it. These three mean girls were messing with your sister. Then Hope Marshall came in and spelled them with the food that they had pushed on to Josie. Hope tried to walk away, taking Josie to her table and they threw an apple at her.”

Lizzie freaked. Everyone knew better than to mess with Hope. She didn’t like the girl, but even with the poking that they did with each other on occasion, the blond wasn’t dumb enough to actually go head on with Hope.

“Then what happened?”

The witch pointed up and tilted her head. There on the ceiling, all three mean girls were suspended by their underwear to invisible hooks. By the looks of them, it appeared that the kitchen had thrown up its contents on to them.

Looking over to where her sister was sitting with Hope, she could see her father talking, see yelling, at Hope.

“Why haven’t they taken them down yet?”

“They can’t, Hope used some sort of spell that won’t let them down. She either has to release them or they have to apologize to Josie. She said she wouldn’t let them down and they won’t apologize.”

“I kind of have to be thankful to her for looking out for Jo, but dad is going to blow.”

Across the dining hall, that is exactly what he was doing. His face was starting to turn red.

“Hope, you let them down now, or I swear I will call your mother.”

“Fine, call her.”

Alaric pulled out his cell phone and call Hayley. He explained the situation. He then handed the phone to Hope.

Hope took it and prepared herself.

“Hope, did you have to suspend them from the ceiling?”

“Well mom, the other option is the one you told me to never do.”

“So you are telling me, your only options were to either spelled them or used your tribrid strength to beat them? Those were the **only** options? Really?”

“Mom, it was three on one. They are eighth graders and it’s Josie. She is only ten. Plus, I gave them three strikes first.”

Hope could hear the sigh and also the laugh from her mother.

“Hope, will you let them down?”

“They can come down when they apologize.”

“They haven’t yet? Do they know that your spells don’t wear off?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Put me on speaker phone please.”

Hope takes the phone away from her ear and presses the speaker.

“Alaric, am I on speaker phone?”

“Yes Hayley.”

“Good. Girls, Hope’s spells down wear off. The last time she pulled something like this, the men were glued to the floor for two weeks. She is stubborn and will not let you down. You might as well apologize.”

“Hayley!”

“Alaric, I’ll be there this weekend. But there is nothing that you can do and I can’t do anything from here.”

Taking her off speaker and taking the phone back, Alaric walked out of the room.

“Hope, you really should let them down. I don’t want them to have to spend the night up there.”

The older girl looked at the brunette. She was so sweet and cared for everyone so much. Hope may not be in her life all the time, but she refused to see her mistreated in anyway.

“I’ll tell you what, if they apologize they get to come down. But, since you really feel that way, if they don’t, I will make an amendment.”

Hope stood up and took Josie by the hand and pulled her over to where she could look up at the girls and did a spell to make them face her. The room went completely still and silent in anticipation of what was to happen next.

“So you don’t want to apologize. I really don’t care if you stay up there forever. However, Josie here is too sweet and hates to see bad things happen. So here is what we are going to do. You all have three options. One, apologize and you will glide down to the ground and you can go. Two, promise that you will never pick on anyone again, and you will glide down and go. Three, refuse both options and stay up there until they tear this place down. You have five minutes to decide. Then I leave and the options are off the table.”

Turning to Josie Hope smiled. She thought that she was being very fair.

“HOPE!”

“What, I gave them options.”

Alaric walked back in and was looking at everyone. They were all frozen and were staring up.

Lizzie pulled her dad down and filled him in on the latest development. The headmaster didn’t know what to do. Hayley was right, he couldn’t force Hope to do anything.

“Hope, please just let them down. I will deal with them.”

Hope shook her head. She would not back down.

“They have three minutes and three options.”

Josie had a look of contemplation on her face and just didn’t know what she should do. Then a thought came to her. She had no idea if it would work, however, it was worth a shot. She turned to the older girl and pulled her out of the dining room and around the corner.

Two minute later, Hope walked into the dining room and waved her hand to release the three girls. She let them fall fast but stopped them a few inches before they hit the ground.

“You should now apologize **and** thank Josie. Next time, she may not talk me out of it.”

With that Hope turned around and walked away.

*****

What Josie was thankful for, other than getting Hope to let those girls down, is the fact that no one noticed that Josie never returned to the dining room.

To convince Hope to release the girls, she had done the only thing that she could think of. She shocked her. She pulled her into a dark corner and kissed her. It was just a press of lips, but for a ten and twelve year old, it was amazing. It was her first kiss, and apparently Hope’s as well.

When she released her, she told her that if she would let the girls down, they could do that again. Apparently, Hope like that idea.

*****

‘I kissed my crush, and she wants to do it again enough that she let them go. Does that mean she likes me, or just that she thought I was desperate enough to kiss her?”

Guess I’ll find out whenever she comes to collect on that kiss.

**T.B.C.**


	2. Hate It When You See Me Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone needs someone sometimes. Some times fighting for someone means just being there when they don't know they need you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone for reading and comenting! It pushed me to get this chapter read for posting today!

** Song: Hate It When You See Me Cry by: Halestorm **

** 13 Years Old/15 Years Old **

It had been three years since the whole girls on the ceiling incident. From that day on, no one ever picked on Josie again. At least not where Hope could see it. And Heaven help it if you did and Hope found out. To say the least, people mostly left the brunette alone.

Hope and Josie never really got too much closer. The older girl never did come to collect her kiss. Josie wasn’t sure if she was happy about that or not. On the one hand, she didn’t want to kiss someone because she had to instead of wanted to. On the other hand, she has had a crush on Hope since she was eight years old.

Hope wasn’t as stand offish as she used to be, but she wasn’t really outwardly friendly either. Whenever she would actually leave her room and come to the dining hall, Josie had an open invitation to sit with her. But, it was rare these days that she ever came down.

Tragically, a week ago, it was revealed that Hope was a Mikaelson and a tribrid. This came on the back of the announcement that Hope had lost her mother.

Hope had been out of school and this was supposed to be her first day back. Josie hadn’t seen her yet, but she was hoping that maybe if she stopped by later tonight, that Hope would open her door for her.

Josie had assisted her father picking out the flowers and card that they left for Hope in her room. Lizzie didn’t understand.

“Why are you so obsessed with Hope? Especially now that you know that she comes from that family. They are all evil!”

“Elizabeth! I am shocked by you right now! She just lost her mother! How could you be so mean! And you don’t even know her family. How would you like to be judge just because our Uncle Kai is insane?”

The blond twin looked down, and Josie could see the color painting her cheeks. She knew what it was like to be judged based on family.

“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that you spend all of your time talking about her and thinking about her. You really are obsessed.”

“I’m not. I just think that she has had a rough time. Think about it. She could never really be close to anyone since she had to hide who she really was. That meant that she would either have to isolate herself or lie to any friends that she made about who she was. It’s no wonder she avoided most people.”

“You’re right. But she didn’t have to be so mean about it. I have tried to make friends with her. Heck, you are the closest anyone ever got. She will at least talk to you sometimes.”

“I think that is because I never ask her extremely personal questions. We mostly talk about spells, books, music, movies and TV, and stuff like that.”

“That is more than she talked about with me. They paired us together for History of Magic for a project, and all I ever got were one word answers, and directions.”

“Well, that is something. When Penelope got paired with her, all she did was grunt at her.”

Lizzie laughed at that. She never liked the raven haired witch. She thought that she was the Queen of the school.

“Well, that makes me like her better.”

Josie shook her head with a little smile. She turned back to her desk where she was trying to finish a note that she was writing for Hope. She wanted her to know that she was there for her, even if she didn’t want to open her door. When she finished the note, she whispered a time delayed spell.

“I’ll be back later. I’m going to go an attempt to check on Hope.”

“Good luck, and Jo, tell her that I’m thinking of her too. I know we may not be friends, but you’re right. She hasn’t had it easy. If she needs friends, I’ll be there for her too.”

Josie smiled at her twin and rushed over to give her a hug. She loved it when Lizzie let her walls down and showed her caring side. Mostly, she was the only one to see it.

“But if she tells anyone that I’m soft, I’ll take the bitch down.”

The brunette just smiled and shook her head as she walked down the hall to the tribrid’s room. Standing outside the door, she took a deep breath and knocked.

“Go away Alaric. I don’t want to talk.”

“Um, it isn’t dad. It’s Josie.”

“Jo… I’m not really feeling up for visitors now.”

“I understand. I just wanted to check on you and to let you know that I am here if you need anything.”

Silence was all that was heard from the other side of the door. Josie shook her head and sat down on the floor towards the right side of the door.

Taking the note that she wrote out of her pocket, she slipped it halfway under the door. She thought that she would give it a minute to see if Hope saw the note, before she pushed it all the way in.

Within a minute, the note was pulled into the room.

_Hope,_

_I know that you don’t want to see anyone right now and that you want to hide away in your room with your pain. I want you to know that I am here for you if you ever want to talk, or if you don’t want to talk and just want to sit in silence staring into space with someone. Just call out for me and I’ll be there._

_Yours Always,_

_Josie_

Seconds after reading the note, the time activated spell erupted. From the note, a short hologram appeared. It was of Hope and her mother. It was a memory of the two from the weekend after Hope had put the girls on the ceiling. It was the moment that Hayley had told Hope that she was proud of her for defending someone else.

Josie had learned this spell and had been practicing it all week. She remembered this moment so clearly. It was the first time that Hope had let her in, even a little. She introduced her to Hayley and told her that Josie was the girl that she had been defending.

Josie had been sat there, outside the door for probably thirty minutes, when she heard the sniffling.

“Hope, I’m here for you. You aren’t alone. I just wanted you to know that I’m still here.”

“Josie, I…I want to let you in, but I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”

“I’m not anyone, and I would never judge you for crying. She was your mother, of course you are going to cry.”

A few minutes later, the door cracked open. Josie looked into the crack and then slipped through before the door quickly shut.

Looking down, the younger girl saw her sort of friend in a ball on the floor. She leaned down and raised her hand so as not to scare the girl by touching her without her knowing or consenting.

“Do you want to go sit on your bed? You would probably be more comfortable.”

Hope looked up at the brunette. She couldn’t find words so she just nodded. Josie gave her a hand to help her stand up and led her over to her bed. After she laid her down and brought the covers up to tuck her in, she went to the bathroom and grabbed a box of tissues and a washcloth that she had wetted.

Sitting in front of the other girl, she wiped her face with the washcloth and then handed her the box of tissues.

“I hate it when people see me cry. I don’t want them to think that I’m weak. I’m not weak.”

“Hope, listen very carefully to me. You are not weak just because you are crying. It takes a lot of strength to allow yourself to feel your pain and grief. Your mother was an amazing woman. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.”

Hope looked at Josie and in that moment felt a wave of understanding and empathy flowing from the younger girl. She sat up and placed the box of tissues on her night stand. She then took the wash cloth and set it aside too.

Taking Josie hand in her own, she pulled the girl a little closer and started into her eyes. There was no pity there for which the older girl was thankful. She would not be pitied.

“Will you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone.”

“Of course I will Hope. I will always be here for you. All you have to do is ask, and in some cases, you don’t even have to do that.”

Leaning forward, Hope placed a gentle kiss on Josie’s lips. It was a little more than the one they shared three years ago, but still soft and sweet.

When the older girl pulled back, she opened her eyes to see that Josie’s were still closed. Hope reached out to push a strained of hair behind the girl’s ear and to cup her cheek with her hand.

“I waited as long as I could to collect that kiss. I wanted to right away, but I knew that I only got one, it was important to save it.”

Josie blinked her eyes open to look at the girl in front of her. How was she going to spend the night after that kiss? Hope was just looking at her like she held all of the answers.

“Um…d-do you, um… do you have some pjs I can borrow?”

“They’re in my top draw on the left. You can change in the bathroom.”

Josie stood to collect the pjs and to change. While in the bathroom she stared at herself in the mirror.

‘You’ve done it now. You had a crush before, you are so screwed now. How are you supposed to go out there and spend the night with her?’

Shaking her head, she quickly changed before taking a steading breath and walking back into the room. She was stealing herself for anything.

When she looked at the bed, what she saw was that Hope was already asleep. She was so exhausted. Smiling, the younger girl climbed into bed beside her, trying to make sure to leave space so that she didn’t touch and cause this to be awkward.

That went out the window when Hope rolled over and grabbed Josie around the middle pulling her in close. She tucked the girl into her chest and cuddle her like a teddy bear.

Smiling to herself, Josie had to keep herself from laughing. Who would have thought that Hope was a cuddler?

Wrapping her arms around the other girl, the brunette buried herself in to her warmth. She had no idea what this would do for their friendship, but she hoped that this would be a starting point for them to have something more.

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything that you would like to see happen? I'm always open to suggestions.


	3. Fighting For Me by: Riley Clemmons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You should Never messy with Josie and let Hope find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mean? Who me? Never! 
> 
> So I was going to make you wait for this update, but so many of you have been so sweet with your comments that I couldn't resist giving you the next chapter.
> 
> Hope you enjoy.

** 15 Years Old/17 Years Old **

Over the last two years, Hope and Josie had started to develop a really good friendship. It was a rare occurrence these days to find one without the other. It had even extended a bit to Lizzie. The three would have lunch together someday.

Josie and Hope had found that they complemented each other perfectly. Josie was sweet and caring and allowed for Hope to have contact with more people, while not having to open herself too much. Josie made friends easily and those friends, the ones that mattered, accepted that Hope was part of the Josie package.

Hope, was strong, brave, and never afraid to stand up for and defend her friend. No one ever bothered Josie anymore. They knew that if they messed with Josie, that they would have to deal with Hope, and no one wanted to go against Hope.

What amazed everyone, was not that the girls were so close, but that they weren’t closer. Everyone who met them, at first thought that they were dating. They were just that close and in sync, however, they would find, shockingly, that the younger girl was actually dating Penelope Park. The couple had been together for two months. They were only ever really seen together at parties. Josie wasn’t technically allowed to date yet. Her father said that she could go on dates, but nothing serious until after her sixteenth birthday. What this meant, was that they were casually dating.

As for Hope, she had gone on a few dates here and there, but nothing stuck. She had gone out with Landon a few times when her first showed up to the school. It was nice, but there were no real feelings there. No spark.

She didn’t really care, she was young and didn’t really care much for the boys in her class. They were all only interested in her for her last name or because they were horny teenage boys.

The one thing that Hope couldn’t seem to get passed however, was Josie and Penelope. She knew that her friend was really into the raven hair girl, but she couldn’t figure out why. She would constantly pick fights with Lizzie, which stressed Josie out.

She didn’t like Hope at all and was always telling Josie that she shouldn’t hang out with her so much. Whenever Josie would say that they were best friends, the witch would always answer back the same.

“But **I’M** your girlfriend.”

This would always cause the younger girl to become sad and withdrawn from everyone for the rest of the day. Hope hated when this happened. She hated the raven witch.

She couldn’t say anything to Josie about it though. She didn’t want her to be upset. So she just did her best to be there and to support Josie the same way that she did for everyone else in her life.

In truth, Hope was in love with Josie. She wanted to be with her, but she was so perfect that she felt that she wasn’t good enough for the girl. In honesty, in Hope’s opinion, no one was good enough for the girl. So she would take anything that Josie was willing to give her.

Two weeks before the twins sixteenth birthday, Josie burst into Hope’s room crying her eyes out.

“Jo, honey, what’s the matter? What happened?”

“H-hope. S-she, she ch-ch-cheated on m-me.”

It took the tribrid a moment to register the words that left the younger witches mouth. When she did, she saw blood red.

There was an instant battle inside of Hope. Half of her wanting to go out and murder that bitch witch and the other half wanting to stay and comfort her best friend. Seeing Josie so upset, the latter part won out, at least for the moment.

“Oh Jo! I’m so sorry baby.”

Hope pulled the taller girl into her lap and hugged her tight. She was afraid that Penelope was going to break Josie’s heart, but to cheat on her. How could anyone ever do that to Josie? She was perfect!

After letting Josie cry in her arms for a good thirty minutes, Hope felt the tears start to slow and fade.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want me to murder her for you? I mean I have at least five death spells that Aunt Freya taught me.”

Pulling back and looking into her clear blue eyes, the witch could see the honesty in her words. Part of her was happy to know that Hope was on her side. The other, larger part, sadly, or not, knew she was serious.

“Hope, I need you to promise me not to kill Penelope or to cause her permanent bodily harm. Promise me.”

The older girl looked into those chocolate eyes that were now rimmed in red from crying. There was nothing that she wouldn’t do for this girl, but she was a woman of her word, so she always paused before promising anything to ensure that she could keep her word.

“Hope, I know you. You are thinking of everything to make sure that you can keep this promise. I know that you are not a liar, so even if you don’t want to, I need you to promise me. I can’t be without you. No matter what, I can’t lose you. Please promise me.”

“Fine. Only for you Jo. I promise, that for this offence, I will neither murder nor cause permanent bodily harm to that bitch of an ex of yours, otherwise known as Penelope Park.”

Josie buried herself further into Hope’s chest after receiving the promise. This is the only place that she wanted to be. More so that with Lizzie, whenever the witch was with Hope, she felt safe and cared for. Nothing could hurt her as long as the tribrid was near. In all honesty, Josie truly wished that Hope was her girlfriend.

Truthfully, she was upset mostly because of the cheating. This wouldn’t have been as upsetting if Penelope had just broken up with her. She was only dating her because she asked her out. There was never going to be a future with her. She could never be with someone who didn’t get alone with Lizzie or accept her relationship with Hope.

But why cheat. There was also what she had said to her. That had really hurt and had sent her straight to Hope. She couldn’t talk about that though. Hope would lose it.

“Oh Jo, I’m sorry that this happened to you. But I’m here for you. Why don’t we change into pjs, and we can spend the weekend eating junk food and binging slasher flicks. Sound good?”

“It sounds perfect, but Hope, its Monday.”

“Oh, guess we can’t start the weekend this soon then?”

This got a small laugh from the brunette.

“I think that our teachers would frown on that.”

“Ok, fine, but we can cuddle tonight, I have chocolate brownies and cakes in my storage cabinet. We can hang out every night to get through the week. Then this weekend, I’ll treat you to your favorite foods and treats, and we can hole up in my room. Sound like a plan?”

“It sounds perfect.”

****

The next day, walking into the dining hall together, Josie and Hope grabbed their food and started to their table. They saw Lizzie was already sitting there with a worried look on her face. She must have heard what happened. As soon as she saw the pair she jumped up and ran to her twin.

“Oh Josie! I’m so sorry. I can’t believe that bitch! And to do that to you in front of everyone!”

The panic look that passed Josie’s face was enough for Lizzie to know that she hadn’t told Hope.

“Did what in front of everyone?”

The twins shared a silent conversation. They knew that if Hope found out that there was no way that Penelope was going to be staying in one piece. However, they also knew that they had to tell her.

“Hope, I’ll tell you, but first let’s sit down.”

Hope followed the twins over to her table with her and Josie’s food trays in hand. After sitting at the table, she turned to the twins.

“Tell me now.”

The older girl’s tone left no room for arguing.

“Honey, remember what you promised me last night.”

Hope merely nodded her head but said nothing. Lizzie was really glad that she was not the one that would be on the receiving end of Hope Mikaelson’s wrath.

“So like I said, Penelope cheated on me.”

“And?”

Shifting in her seat, Josie looked to her twin for help. How was she going to tell her this? Turns out she didn’t have to, Lizzie blurted it out.

“She was making out with her new girl in the common room where everyone could see. When Josie walked in she told her it was her own fault and that if she wasn’t such a prude and put out, then maybe she wouldn’t have had to look elsewhere for her needs.”

The brunette stared at her twin. She can’t believe that she just blurted all that out.

Hope’s eyes turned golden. She crushed the glass that was in her hand and then stood up. She looked down at Josie, who had a pleading look on her face.

All eyes in the dining hall turned to look at her. Once catching sight of the golden eyes, and the determined, hell bent look on her face, everyone knew that she had just found out what happened.

Hope then turned and walked out of the dining hall. Everyone who was in her path quickly jumped out of the way. They all knew that you didn’t mess with Hope and if she was angry, you moved quicker.

The twins were chasing after the older girl. Both trying to calm her down before she did something that she would regret. The problem with that was that they knew as well as Hope did, she wouldn’t regret a thing.

Finally, when they found Penelope with her clique in the common room, the new girl hanging off of her, Josie knew stopping Hope wouldn’t happen. So she did the only thing she could in that moment. She surrendered. She placed a hand in the middle of Hope’s chest and got her to look at her in the eyes.

“Just please remember what you promised me. That is all I ask. Finish this and then let’s go. I don’t want to waste anymore of my time on her. ”

Hope nodded again, reaching up to squeeze Josie’s hand in assurance that she did in fact remember her promise and walked up to the raven haired witch.

“Oh look, its Josie’s lap dog. Come to bark at me? We all know that you have the teeth to bite with.”

Those were the last words spoken by the witch. Hope cast a silencing spell that closed everyone’s mouths in the room save hers and the twins and then cast one to freeze the others so that no one would interrupt her.

“Lizzie, you may want to go get dad. I have a feeling that there is going to be a need for the hospital wing soon.”

The blond nodded and ran off. She really wanted to see what happened, but knew that it would be all over school in less than an hour any way.

Standing above Penelope, Hope picked her up by the collar of her shirt and held her a good three inches off the ground.

“Now, it isn’t bad enough that you cheated. That was dumb move number one. Then you flaunt it in the common room where you knew Josie would find you and see. Dumb move number two. But no, then you tell that sweet, innocent, perfect girl, that it was her fault because she wouldn’t “put out” and that you had needs. Dumb move number three.”

With that, Hope had Penelope flung against a wall so hard that there were cracks growing from the impact point.

“Now, sadly, before I knew what happened, I promised not to murder you or to cause you permanent bodily harm. However, that leaves me so many options. And as you liked to remind everyone, I am Klaus Mikaelson’s daughter.”

Leaving that statement to hang in the air for a moment, Hope turned to Josie. One look at the sad red rimmed eyes, and it took everything in her to not reach in and pull out the witches heart and crush it.

“Now, I am a reasonable person, so I’m going to give you three options.”

Josie didn’t like this, she remember what happened the last time Hope gave someone three options. In fact, those three girls, currently sat frozen on the other side of the room.

“Option one, you can get on your knees and beg for Josie’s forgiveness for ever daring to treat her this way. Option two, you can apologize to Josie and tell her how this was never her fault and act like a grown ass woman and take responsibility for your own actions and never talk to her again. Options number three, and this is my personal favorite, you can do nothing and I can leave you up against this wall. We need a new dart board. The choice is yours. Take a moment to decide.”

Hope walked away and over to Josie. The taller girl raised her eyebrow.

“What, two out of the three only cause her damage to her pride and reputation. All she has to do is apologize. That is two thirds of the options given to her.”

Just then, Lizzie came around the corner following Alaric. One look at the scene in front of him and he was shaking his head.

“Again Hope!”

Hope looked at him. Eyebrow raised and smirk firmly on her face.

“I gave her three options. She is two minutes in, I was just about to ask which option she picked.”

As the shorter girl turned away to walk back over to the trapped witch, she turned back to the headmaster with that same smirk.

“And this time you can’t even call my mother.”

Josie actually laughed at that.

“So Penelope, I’m going to release just your mouth, and then you can make your choice. Just so you know. You get one chance to pick. My spells don’t fade, ever, and I will not ask twice. So what’s it going to be?”

With a wave of her hand, Hope released the silencing spell.

“Go to hell Mikaelson!”

A collective groan was heard from behind the two.

“That was the wrong answer. Hope you enjoy being a wall ornament. When I said my spells don’t fade, my Aunt Freya, the most powerful witch in the world, she can’t undo them.”

The fear in Penelope’s eyes was clear to see. Before she could say anything, Hope silenced her again and turned to walk off.

“Promise no permanent harm or murder. I always keep my promises. She choose for herself.”

Alaric knew that he couldn’t leave a student like this, but he also knew that without Hayley, there was truly no one in Hope’s family that could help, they would probably congratulate her for protecting Josie.

‘Damn Mikaelson loyalty and protectiveness!’ Turning to his daughter with pleading eyes. He hated this, knowing that it was due to something done to Josie that this was happening, but she was his only hope at fixing this.

“Josie, is there any way that you could do something like the last time?”

Josie turned beat red at remembering what she had to do last time. If only her father knew what he was actually asking her to do. She almost wanted to laugh.

“I’ll try.”

The taller witch took hold of Hope’s arm and dragged her into a nearby closet. As soon as they were in there she closed and locked the door.

Josie turned to face Hope and with no warning, wrapped her arms around her neck, and kissed her. This time the kiss wasn’t as sweet or as innocent. It had a fire behind it. It caused Hope to steady herself by placing her hands on Josie’s hips.

When the younger girl pulled back, Hope was still stuck in the kiss, so Josie pecked her once more.

“So I’m upping the stakes this time. If you give her another chance to apologize, you get another kiss like that. If you let her go no matter what, you can be my date to my birthday party.”

It took Hope a moment, as she was still recovering from that kiss. She was pretty sure that if she died in this moment, she would have no regrets in life. Once she got her head back together, she pouted.

“That is so not fair Jo. You promised me months ago, even before Penelope, that I would be your date to your birthday!”

Josie thought for a moment. She had promised and like Hope herself, she never broke a promise. Which meant, a slight change to the offer.

“Fine, if you let her down no matter what, I’ll let you be the one to take me home from the party too.”

Josie was smiling. This offer, in reality, this was a win-win for her. Hope didn’t need to know that though.

Hope looked at Josie with a dazed smile. She loved this girl. She really did. She never wanted to do anything to ruin their friendship, but she loved her so much.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Removing Josie’s arms from around her neck, and using every ounce of will power to remover her hands from the taller girl’s hips, Hope started towards the door. Suddenly, before opening the door, she stopped and turned back to the younger girl. She looked at her with something that Josie couldn’t place.

“So, if I give her a chance to make her choice, and she selects the wrong option again, I still get the kiss if I don’t let her down, correct.”

“Hope…”

“No. I just want to make sure that I know the deal I’m making here.”

“Yes, you ask her and you get another kiss.”

“As long as I let her down, then I get to take you to your party and take you home after?”

“Yes.”

Smirking, Hope grabbed Josie’s hand and opened the door. The two walked back into the common room where everyone was waiting to see if the brunette had been able to work her magic on the tribrid.

“Ok, so since Josie is the sweetest, nicest, most forgiving person alive, you get one more chance. Same three options. Pick.”

Penelope opened her mouth as to speak, however, before she got the chance, Alaric spoke.

“Please think before you answer. I’m not sure that Josie is going to be able to do more than this.”

Penelope truly looked like she was thinking about this. Hope knew what she was thinking too. She would tell her to go to hell and then try to convince Josie or Lizzie to siphon the spell away.

“Go to hell you tribrid freak!”

Josie shook her head. All that for nothing. There was no way that Hope was going to let her down now. Not even with a promise of taking her home from the party.

“You really are stupid Penelope.”

Every head in the room turned to Hope, who was smiling and laughing. This was bad, this was very bad.

“Hope…”

Alaric really didn’t like this. Hope’s reaction could only lead to bad things.

Hope walked over to the raven haired girl and levitated herself to where she could whisper something into her ear. She spoke so softly, that not even those with super hearing could hear what she said. However, judging by the look of first shock and then horror on the girls face, they probably didn’t want to know.

After floating back down to the ground, Hope turned her back on the other girl and waved her hand to allow her to fall to the ground.

Walking up to Josie she smiled and held out her hand.

“Come on Josie, I think we should go. We already missed breakfast, but we can make it in time for class.”

“Ok.”

Josie was stunned. She didn’t know what to think.

“Oh, and you have to help me pick out my dress later. If I’m going to be your date to your birthday, we have to match.”

With that, the older girl intertwined their fingers and led the way out of the common room.

Everyone was torn between watching the girls leave and looking at Penelope on the ground.

“What she say to you Pen?”

The witch looked up and shook her head. There was no way that she was repeating what the older girl had said. She fully believed her and didn’t plan on testing her further.

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I think the next chapter is going to be the birthday party.


	4. Say It Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Birthday, Dates, and Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to @jo_saltz as I promised to have this update today! See, I keep my promises!
> 
> I was going to keep going, however, this was already like 20 pages, so... I'll update again next week.

** 16 Years Old/17 Years Old **

** Birthday Party **

It had been two weeks since the show down with Penelope and her gaggle of girls in the common room, and Hope and Josie were becoming even closer than before. They were now spending more time together, if that was even possible. There wasn’t a night that they didn’t spend together.

By some unspoken understanding, they naturally gravitated towards each other at every opportunity. They would cuddle more and hold each other tighter. That sat closer together, occasionally, Josie would just sit directly in Hope’s lap and wrap her arms around the older girl. To all around them, it appeared that the two were finally getting together and making the move into becoming a couple.

However, also seemingly by mutual understanding, they hadn’t spoken about the kiss, or what it meant that Hope would be Josie’s date for her birthday. Not just who she went with.

Hope again, hadn’t collected her kiss right away. Josie was hoping that she didn’t wait three years like last time. She wasn’t sure that she could wait that long to kiss the tribrid this time. 

Everything was falling into place for the girls, and it appeared that the only thing that was missing, was for them to actually talk to each other. But they were both terrified. What if what they were feeling was one sided. Just because they were going on a date, and had shared a few kisses through the years and were best friends, that didn’t mean that the other wanted to change what they had and to become the other’s girlfriend.

In one of the increasingly rare moments that they weren’t together, Josie was getting ready for the party with the help of her sister. Hope had told her that she would pick her up at seven so that they head to the party.

“Lizzie, how do I look?”

Josie stood there in a beautiful strapless creamy pink dress that had her looking more grown up than usual. Her makeup was light and her hair was down in soft waves, with two strains pulled back into a braid that left the hair off of her face. So much tan skin was showing from her neck to her collar bone, that the younger girl was thinking that if Hope had activated her vampire side, she would have practically been offering her a meal.

“You look amazing.”

Smiling with a slight blush, Josie knew that she was as ready as she was going to be and was now just anxiously waiting for her date.

“I can’t believe that your first official date, the one that counts, is with freaking Hope Mikaelson!”

“I know! I never in a million years thought that this would ever happen.”

“So you guys are dating now right? Like really dating and not just pretending that you are just friends?”

Looking down and fidgeting with her fingers, Josie didn’t meet her sister’s eyes. How was she going to answer that? She really didn’t know to be honest. She wanted to think that whatever this was happening between them was more than them being friends.

“We haven’t talked about it.”

“WHAT!? Josie! How could you have not talked to each other about this? You two have been even closer than before, as if that was possible.

“I don’t know. We just haven’t.”

“What have you been doing for the last two weeks then? The way that you have been acting, you would think that you two were together. Hell, I’m pretty sure that the whole school does think you are together.”

“We have been talking even more than usual. I mean, we are not only talking about our present and past like before, but we are spending more time talking about our futures and our feelings.”

“Then how is it possible, that you have not talked about if you are dating!?”

Josie looked down again. In all truth, she really didn’t know how they had managed to skirt this conversation for this long. She truly felt like her and Hope were dating, and just not calling it dating. However, the difference between a best friend and a girlfriend was easy to spot, if you knew what you were looking at.

There was no kissing or anything passed a hug or a cuddle. Sure, they wrapped up together every night and they have been sharing the same bed for the last two weeks. They held hands walking the halls and curled up close together at their lunch table sharing food from the same tray. But no kissing, not of any kind.

“By the end of tonight, I will know one way or another. Since today was the official start of us being allowed to actually date, I am going to ask Hope to be my girlfriend.”

“Way to step up sis! I’m proud of you. Of course, I’ll be prouder, if tomorrow you can say that Hope Mikaelson is your girlfriend.”

The beam of a smile that was on Josie’s face said it all. Tonight was going to be a make or break night for her heart.

Just then, there was a knock on the door to the twin’s room. Lizzie smiled and walked over to open it, which revealed Hope decked out in a beautiful red dress that was off the shoulder with two thin straps over the shoulders. She wore her hair up in an elegant bun. This left her exposed from her neck to her collar bone.

In her hands, Hope carried a bouquet of different varieties flowers. They were bright and colorful and absolutely beautiful, just like the girl holding them.

Smiling at Lizzie, she turned her head slightly and was taken back by the sight of Josie.

“Wow, Josie, you look beautiful!”

Blushing Josie looked down for a moment to compose herself.

“You look amazing as well Hope.”

The two girls were locked in. Their eyes not leaving each other’s once they locked on. The whole world just slipped away and nothing but these two existed.

“And we all know that I look stunning.”

Lizzie decided that if she didn’t break the stare these two would spend the whole night just looking at each other.

Seemingly pained to do so, Hope pulled her eyes away from Josie to look at her twin. Giving her a smile.

“Yes Lizzie, you look nice too. This is for you, Happy Birthday.”

Hope handed the taller girl a yellow rose. It was tall and fresh and went well with her light blue dress.

“Thank you Hope, it’s pretty.”

“You’re welcome. Yellow means Friendship and New beginnings, as well as happiness and joy. And a Yellow Rose is Friendship and joy. ”

The blonde smiled and reached out and hugged the shorter girl. It was a thoughtful gift, as the two girls were trying to become friends.

“I love it. Thank you. I’m going to head to the party. See you two there soon.”

With that, Lizzie left the two girls alone to share a private moment. She would give them about ten or fifteen minutes. If they didn’t show, she would have MG come check on them. There was no way that she was going to let them skip this party.

Turning to Josie, Hope nervously held out the bouquet of mixed flowers. She smiled softly with a blush coloring her cheeks.

“These are for you Josie. They each have a meaning to them too.”

Josie took them smiling shyly. She brought them to her nose so that she could smell the sweet fragrance.

“Do you want to tell me what they mean?”

“Well, the Red Carnation is for love, pride and admiration. The White Carnation is innocence and pure love. The Red Rose is of course love and adding the White Rose adds the meaning of unity, so that together they represent the unity of love. The Burgundy Rose is unconscious beauty. The Tiger Lily means ‘I dare you to love me’. The White Gardenia means purity of Love and the Red Gardenia is a silent ‘I Love You’.”

Josie looks at Hope. There was no way that she could confuse what these flowers were saying. They all held to the same message.

“I tend to have a hard time saying things, but I thought that if you wouldn’t mind, I would start with the flowers, and then we could go from there?”

“I like that idea Hope. Thank you, these are the best birthday gift I have gotten.”

“Oh, those aren’t your birthday present. Those are your ‘this is our first date and I want to let you know that I thought about this’ gift.”

The brunette hugged the flowers for a moment before magically making a vase of water appear to place them in. This was already shaping up to be the best birthday ever.

Pulling a box out of her purse, Hope handed it over to the younger girl.

“This is your birthday present. I hope that you like it.”

Opening the box, Josie saw a beautiful silver locket with a very intricate design on the front.

“Oh Hope, it’s beautiful!”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you are.”

Hope blushed for a moment before coughing to cover it and looking back to Josie, trying to not blush more than she already was.

“It’s a little more than meets the eye, just like the girl it is for. If you open it, you will find a picture of you and Lizzie on one side, and one of you and me on the other. Also, I added a charm to it, which also gives you access to magic if you should ever need it.”

“What charm did you put on it?”

“I thought about this a lot, but in the end, I was reminded of something my mother told me about you. She said that smart and pretty girls like you, tended to be over looked unless there was someone there to listen hard enough to hear them. I want you to know, that while I will always be here to hear you, this is so that others can hear you as well. The charm allows quite things to be heard.”

Josie had tears forming in her eyes. The thought that this gift was not only thoughtful for one reason, but for a multitude of them was overwhelming.

“Hope, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. My mother was right. You should be heard, and I want to be the one that helps you with that.”

“Oh Hope! As long as you hear me that is all that will ever matter. Will you help me put it on?”

The auburn haired girl took the locket and stepped behind the brunette to clasp it into place. After securing it, Hope couldn’t help but to allow her hand to run down the delicate skin of Josie’s shoulders. Leaning forward a bit, Hope placed a kiss first on one, then the other.

“Ready to go princess? You can’t be late to your own ball.”

Smiling, the taller girl took her arm and allowed the girl of her dreams to lead her to her birthday party.

****

The party was in full swing when the pair showed up. Looking around the room, the two girls saw that Lizzie had really out done herself this year. It looked just like Cinderella’s ball.

There where twinkle lights strung all across the ceiling and on every surface that would hold them. Towards the left side of the room, propped up for pictures was a huge carriage shaped like a pumpkin. On the right side, there was a DJ booth that was designed to look like a huge clock tower, which actually had a working clock illuminating the time.

“Lizzie really went all out with this party.”

“Yeah. She said that we only turn sixteen once and that she wanted to make sure that it was special and perfect. There is apparently a surprise at midnight that she wouldn’t even tell me about.”

“I’m sure with it being Lizzie, you should only worry a little bit.”

The two looked at each other a moment before bursting out in laughter. Both knowing that this was the truth.

“Well, maybe I should hire her to plan my eighteenth birthday. I’ve never had a party before.”

Josie looked at Hope with an expression mixed of astonishment and sorrow. That couldn’t be right. Hope had to have had parties at least when she was younger.

“You mean you haven’t had one since you were little right?”

“Nope, never had one. When I was young we were always on the move. By the time I was eight, mom enrolled me here. My birthday is before the school year ends and I had no friends to celebrate with when I was younger. Then the last two years, you and I spent my birthday together.”

“We didn’t spend you birthday together. I would have done something special for you.”

“You would have if you knew when my birthday was. This last year we hung out and ate chocolate beignets that my Aunt Freya sent and you helped me set up the new paint supplies that my Aunt Bex sent and the new laptop that Uncle Kol sent.”

The taller girl stood there with wide eyes. She remembered that day very clearly. Her father had let Hope have the day off of classes and had called her to his office to pick up the packages. Hope had asked Josie to hang out and when she was about to decline, her father had told her to have fun. She had thought that it was curious at the time.

“I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me that it was your birthday! I would have done something for you!”

“You did. You spent the whole day with me. You even slept over that night. It was the first time in years that I didn’t spend my birthday alone.”

“Well, now that I know when your birthday is, you better believe that you are getting a party this year!”

Hope smiled and leaned over to kiss Josie on the cheek.

“Well speaking of parties, let’s get on the floor and enjoy yours.”

****

The two girls spent hours dancing and hanging out with Josie’s friend. They were having a great time and it was a magical experience. They had taken their picture in the pumpkin coach and with the help of magic, the photos would come out just like those moving ones from Harry Potter.

The only dark spot on the whole night, was when Penelope showed up and tried to talk to Josie. The brunette placed her hand on Hope’s shoulder before she could do anything about it.

“I don’t want to talk to you. You made your choice and I have made mine. You weren’t invited. Please leave.”

Turning her back on the shorter witch, Josie linked her hand with Hope’s to lead her to the dance floor.

“Whatever. I hope the bitch gives you fleas!”

That stopped the brunette in her tracks. She turned around so fast you would think that she had vampire speed and slapped Penelope so hard that she stumbled back and almost fell over.

“The only bitch that I see here is you! Now leave or you will regret it.”

The raven haired witch looked stunned. She couldn’t believe that sweet innocent Josie just hit her. But she couldn’t back down. She stood up to Mikaelson, she would be damned if she backed down from a Saltzman.

“Oh, and what are you going to do if I don’t?”

Before Josie could respond, Hope placed her hand on her shoulder to calm her down. The smile that instantly graced Josie’s face brought one to Hope’s as well.

“Let me handle this, you go enjoy your birthday.”

The taller girl nodded and leaned over to kiss Hope sweetly on the cheek before turning to walk to her sister.

Turning back to Penelope, the look on Hope’s face was one that truly sent a wave of icy fear into the younger girl.

“Now, I told you what would happen to you if you didn’t leave Josie alone. Apparently you thought that I was bluffing. Something that you should know, Mikaelson’s **NEVER** bluff.”

The witch started to back away from the tribrid. She was thinking of what she could do to get away and wondering if there was an escape that wouldn’t make it look like she was running away.

Hope raised her hand and froze her still. She was incapable of moving or speaking.

“Now, you and I are going to go outside and have a little chat. Then, because I don’t want to get my outfit dirty, or make my **DATE** wait on me, I’ll put you on ice and then we can talk at length tomorrow.”

With that, the tribrid walked out of the ball with Penelope in tow. Five minute later she returned, not a hair out of place, and walked over to Josie.

“Is she still alive?”

“For now, but we can deal with that later. Let’s dance!”

The rest of the night was perfect. Josie couldn’t have asked for a better Sweet Sixteen. She was surround by all of her friends, and the party was amazing, and she had her dream date.

When it was five minutes until midnight, Lizzie walked over to the DJ booth and took the microphone, silencing the music.

“Hello everyone, thank you so much for coming to our birthday party.”

There was a cheer from the crowd.

“So I have planned something special for my sister. As she always gives the best gifts, and always goes above and beyond for everyone else, this year, I decided that it was her turn to be treated like a princess! Josie, please come up here.”

The brunette turned to Hope and gave a shy smile. The shorter girl smiled back and encouraged her to walk up to the booth.

When she stepped onto the platform, a throne appeared. Lizzie took her hand and led her over to sit there and then placed a tiara on her head.

“So growing up, Cinderella was one of Josie’s favorite stories. So, for your present, I have taken and created a little twist on this classic.”

With a wave of her hand, Josie’s shoes disappeared and she was left wearing a glass slipper and a bare foot.

“Instead of the Prince looking all over for the right foot to fit the shoe, each person who wants to, will come up and take a glass slipper out of this bag, don’t worry there are more than enough for everyone in the room to take one. The one that fits Josie, will be her prince or princess charming and will have the honor of leading her in the last dance at midnight.”

There were a lot of excited responses to this. It appeared that a lot of people wanted the chance to dance with Josie.

Hope could understand that, Josie was beautiful and kind and everyone who knew her craved to be closer to her. She radiated warmth.

Hope didn’t know if she wanted to get in line. On one hand she really wanted to get that dance with Josie, however, on the other, she felt shy and exposed.

She was debating what she should do when MG walked up to push her into the line. He was standing behind her to make sure that she didn’t run.

“MG, what are you doing?”

“I am under strict instructions to make sure that you are in this line and that you don’t leave. You **HAVE** to participate.”

“Who’s instructions?”

Hope asked and all she got in return was a raised eyebrow and pointed look. Turning her head, she saw a smirking Lizzie standing next to the bag. Hope suddenly had a feeling that she couldn’t place and she got closer to the bag and blonde.

When it was her turn to stick her hand in the bag, she noticed that there was only one shoe in the bag for her to pick from and she looked up, again to be met with a smirk firmly placed on the blonde’s face. When she pulled her hand out holding a beautiful glass slipper, Lizzie winked at her and sent her on her way.

When it was her turn to try on the slipper, there was a minute left until midnight. She looked up at the brunette as she approached to have her turn.

“Finally! I really hope that you have the magic touch, because I am over all of these people touching my foot. It is kind of creepy.”

Smirking, Hope knelt down on one knee and slipped the glass slipper onto Josie’s foot. Perfect fit.

“And we have our Princess Charming!”

Hope held out her hand to Josie to help her stand and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. As the clock struck midnight, the music started for their dance. The taller girl pulled Hope closer and laid her head on her shoulder. She was very thankful that Hope’s heels gave her those few extra inches to make this less awkward.

**_You run with the sun in your eyes  
Arms open to whatever you find  
Then there's me  
Hopelessly trying to find a way  
Of hearing three little words from your mouth  
And not filling this heaven with doubt  
Humor me, I know you've said it but_ **

**_Say it again  
I wanna know that you mean it, this time  
Say it again  
I know that I should believe it  
But I  
Never thought someone would love me like you say you do  
So say it again, and I'll say it back to you_ **

**_You're holding my heart in your hands  
And it's the safest feeling I've had, it can't be true  
Someone like you, feels this way for me  
I hear three little words from your mouth  
And my heart can't figure it out  
So humor me, I know you've said it but_ **

**_Just say it again  
I wanna know that you mean it, this time  
Say it again  
I know that I should believe it  
But I  
Never thought someone would love me like you say you do  
So say it again, and I'll say it back to you_ **

**_I know you've said it but just say it again  
I wanna know that you mean it, this time  
Say it again  
I know that I should believe it  
But I  
Never thought someone would love me like you say you do  
So say it again, and I'll say it back to you_ **

“I’m so glad that it was you. I really wanted it to be you.”

“I’m really glad it was me too. I have to confess, I couldn’t have promised to not hurt anyone else if they tried to hold you like this.”

“No one else would have held me like this.”

Josie looked up at Hope, and stared into her eyes. She was saying what she had no words for yet with that look. She needed Hope to hear her. She needed her to know what she wanted to say, even if she couldn’t say the words just yet. She needed her to be able to hear her heart.

“I hear you Jo.”

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and all of your amazing feedback and comments!
> 
> Anything that you would like to see happen? Even if I can't fit it in here, maybe it will show in my next work. :)


	5. I Was Made For Loving You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another date and revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this update took so long! I was having a little bit of writer's block brough on by grad school application deadlines. Good new, they are all in and I just have to wait to hear back, which means, UPDATE!
> 
> I hope you like this next chapter and I would like to thank everyone for reading and for your amazing comments! You inspire me to keep going!

Once the last dance was completed, Hope smiled and Josie not wanting to let her go. They stayed there a few moments more, swaying to music that only they could hear.

“Ok Cinderella, sadly, the ball is over and it is time that we head to bed before we turn into pumpkins.”

Josie laughed at the older girl’s silliness.

“But I don’t want tonight to be over. It was the perfect night. If I go to bed then that’s the end of the dream.”

“I know what you mean Jo, but what if I promise that the dream doesn’t have to end?”

“What do you mean?”

Stepping back slightly, Hope held out her hand to take Josie’s. She brought it to her lips and kissed it gently before intertwining their fingers.

Walking in silence, Josie tucked herself into Hope’s side and smiled shyly at her as the older girl as she walked her to her door.

“This has been the best birthday ever.”

“I’m glad that you enjoyed it so much. Lizzie really went all out to make it a great one.”

Josie looked directly into the blue eyes that she couldn’t help but to constantly fall into. Is it possibly that Hope really didn’t know how she felt about her? She really thought that she was obvious.

“She did, but that isn’t why it was so great.”

Hope looked at her like she was trying to read her thoughts. The two came to a stop in front of the twin’s door. They turned to face each other, not releasing the hold they had.

“Today was perfect, because of you. You made this day a dream come true.”

Hope’s eyes widen in shock. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She made Josie’s day special?

“Josie, um, I just want…Um”

Hope couldn’t say it, she wanted to, but the words wouldn’t come out. Oh well, actions speak louder than words right?

Placing her hand on Josie’s cheek, she brought the younger girl in to claim the kiss that was owed. She made sure that she put everything she could into that kiss. She wanted Josie to feel everything in this moment. She filled that kiss with everything that her heart had been screaming at her to say since she was ten years old.

When the two pulled back, they rested their foreheads together while catching the breath that the kiss stole.

“Josie, will you go on a date with me tomorrow?”

Hope had to use all of the adrenaline coursing in her veins and every ounce of courage that she had, to ask this question.

The answering smile that spread on Josie’s face made it worth it. Hope truly would do anything to see Josie smile like that, especially when it was aimed at her.

“I would love to Hope.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up here tomorrow at noon?”

“I can’t wait.”

Leaning in for one more, soft kiss to the taller girl’s cheek, Hope pulled back and took a step back, creating space between them.

“Good night Princess Josie.”

“Good night my Princess Charming.”

*****

The next day, Hope had spent hours preparing for her date with Josie. Everything had to be perfect. She knew that, even though they hadn’t talked about it, the relationship between Josie and her and shifted.

“Ok, so I have everything set and ready to go. I have scared everyone away so that there will be no interruptions. Now, I just have to go get my date.”

The tribrid waved her hand, sending the last of the preparations to set themselves in place as she walked to collect her girl.

Within five minutes, Hope had arrived at Josie’s door and was anxiously shifting from one foot to another. All she had to do was knock.

“Come on you chicken, just knock.”

After scolding herself, Hope knocked on the twin’s door. She barely got to finish knocking before the door was pulled open.

Standing there was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. A smiling Josie. Her eyes lit up and she was slightly bouncing.

“Hi Jo.”

“Hi Hope.”

Neither made a move. They were completely lost in each other and had no want to find their way out.

“Gag me!”

Lizzie was standing there smirking at the two. She had been taking pictures of the two while they weren’t paying attention. She had a surprise planned for the two, but that was not important. If these two didn’t move, they would spend their entire date in the doorway.

“Ok, you two, go somewhere else and be sappy. Bye.”

With that Lizzie pushed her twin out of the room and right into Hope’s arms.

Hope grabbed Josie so that she didn’t fall and helped her to right herself again.

“Got to love that twin of yours.”

“I don’t know about that.”

The two looked at each other again a laughed. So far this date was starting well.

“I meant to say, you look beautiful Jo.”

The brunette was wearing short black shorts and a yellow t-shirt. She had some yellow Vans and black socks. A small yellow bow in her hair as well.

“This is nothing. Just my normal everyday clothes.”

Josie was blushing at the compliment. She wasn’t use to getting them. Usually she was overlooked as Lizzie was flashier.

“Well you are still beautiful.”

“Thank you. I think you look amazing.”

Hope smirk. She had put a lot into making it look like she put no effort in. She work black jean and a dark blue t-shirt. She paired this with her black boots.

“Are you ready to start this date?”

“Absolutely. So what are we doing?”

“I had planned a day for us to just spend alone. The details are a surprise. Just follow me, as promised, another dream day awaits.”

Josie smiled and took Hope’s hand. She allowed the older girl to guide her to their date. Every ten feet or so, Hope would stop for a moment and produce a flower for Josie. It appeared to be more of the same ones from last night.

When they got to the opening of the forest, Hope stopped them and produced a blindfold.

“So, I would like to surprise you if that is ok?”

“I love surprises.”

In all truth, Josie hated surprises. They tended to not be good ones in her experience. However, for this girl she was willing to be surprised.

Coming behind her, Hope slipped the blindfold into place. After waving a hand to ensure that she couldn’t see, she was satisfied. The tribrid then leaned forward and pressed her lips until they were right on Josie’s ear.

“I know you hate surprises, but thank you for letting me do this for you. I’m going to pick you up now so that you don’t know how far we walk or what direction.”

Picking Josie up bridal style, Hope starts to run, slower than she normally would, as not to disorient Josie or cause her motion sickness to act up.

After just a few minutes, the girls arrived at the location that Hope had set up earlier in the day. With a final wave of her hand and a muttered spell, all the finishing touches were completed.

“Ok, we are here and everything is ready. I’m going to take your blindfold off now.”

Hope walked behind Josie and removed the cover on her eyes. She was really nervous about this. She needed this date to be perfect.

Blinking a few times, to readjust to the light, Josie looked out and saw the most romantic sight. On a raft, that looked like it was one of those blow up ones, there was a blanket laid out with a picnic basket in the middle. There were little lights floating around, and when she inspected them closer, she saw that they were little animals made of water, dancing in a circle around the raft, with fire lighting them up.

“Oh Hope, this is beautiful! I can’t believe that you went to all this trouble for me.”

“I would do anything for you Josie. You should be made to feel special every day. And this is just the first part of our date.”

Josie’s smile went from beaming to outshining the sun. She didn’t think that she could be happier in this moment.

Hope took the taller girl’s hand and helped her to step onto the raft and then took a seat next to her. She whispered a few spells and then the raft started to make slow circles around the lake.

Josie kept looking around, trying to figure out why no one else was around and didn’t seem to be drawn by them.

“Don’t worry Jo, I took care of everything. There is a spell on us so no one can see or hear us, and the raft will propel itself until we are ready to go back to land.”

“That explains why no one is looking at us, it doesn’t explain why no one else is by the lake. It’s a warm day and the weekend.”

Hope shifted her eyes away from the girl next to her. Josie always seemed to notice everything, well, almost everything, about Hope though.

“What did you do?”

“Well… I may or may not have threatened the entire student body to the same fate as Penelope if they came within a mile of the lake until after five today.”

The witch couldn’t help herself. She laughed so hard that she almost fell into the lake. Luckily, Hope’s reflexes were attuned to everything Josie, so she caught her and held on until she calmed down.

“The best part is that no one has any idea what you did to her.”

Again the tribrid turned her head and avoided eye contact with the other girl. Damn, it seemed that Josie was just as aware of all things Hope.

“What did you do? I asked you not to murder her or to do any permanent damage.”

The smirk that the auburn hair girl had on her face did nothing to ease the sense of dread for the brunette.

“I followed all the rules that you gave me. I didn’t even do any… much physical harm to her.”

Josie crossed her arms and stared at her date waiting to hear what she did. She wasn’t really mad at the girl, she just needed to know if Hope was going to be in trouble, and if so, how much.

“Ok, ok. So I may have decided to hit her where it really hurts. I made all of her make up disappear. Then I changed all of her clothes into uncool granny clothes. I locked her out of her room so she can’t hide, and may have added a spell on her to that she is required to go into the most highly populated areas. I may have also put a binding spell on her tongue so that she couldn’t say anything mean or negative and had to be nice all day. I also may have added a little extra that everyone who asks her out she has to say yes to and full fill the date. I may or may not of told this to a few dateless kids, like Wade. Then I called her mother and told her what she did and told her that she could handle her or I would.”

“That is what you threatened her with that day in the common room that scared her so much?”

“Oh no, but if I did that, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my promise to you.”

The look on Josie’s face was one of pure shock for a moment, and then she started laughing so hard she made herself cry.

“Hope that is perfect. She cares more about her reputation than anything. And leaving her with no makeup and taking away her clothes, those are her shields. The date thing may have gone a bit far. But the best and worse for her, her mother **HATES** scandals of any kind.”

“I know.”

“How do you know that?”

“Do you really think that one of the oldest covens isn’t going to try to make connections with the Mikaelson name? The coven owes allegiance to my family.”

Josie just shook her head, because of course. Then a thought popped into the witches head, but no, not even Hope would do that, would she?

“Hope, by any chance, did you remind Penelope that you are the head of your family and that since she would be the head of the Park Coven… by chance did you point this out to her?”

The tribrid didn’t even try to hide the smile on her face. She smiled wider if that was possible.

“Have I ever mentioned that sometimes, it is good to be a Mikaelson and that I really hate bullies and mean girls, especially ones who mess with you?”

Josie leaned over and gave Hope a kiss on her cheek, which caused the older girl to blush.

“Enough about that, let’s enjoy our date. So what food did you bring?”

Hope smile got even bigger. She was so head over heels a goner for this girl. She reached into the basket and started to take out containers full of food. She had make sure to pack all of Josie’s favorites.

“We have pasta salad with the diced tomatoes and cucumbers in it. I also have hummus and crackers. I made dressed grilled cheese sandwiches, spelled to stay crispy and warm. For desert, I have vanilla ice cream and chocolate chip cookies so we can make our own ice cream cookies sandwiches.”

“Hope! These are my favorites!”

“I know. I pay attention and listen when you talk.”

The girl smiled shyly at each other. They spent the next hour on the lake eating and talking about whatever came to their minds. They would occasionally feed each other a bite of something or other. The looks passing between the two were doing a lot of the talking for them.

Once they were finished eating, Hope waved her hand and said a small spell to make the basket disappear. The girls laid back and cuddled together, Josie’s head on Hope’s chest with her hand perfectly placed on the tribrid’s chest so she could feel her heartbeat. Hope had one arm wrapped around the younger girl and the other was intertwined with Josie’s free hand. They watched as the clouds rolled by and talked a little more.

After a while, the raft steered them back to the shore. Hope got out first and then helped Josie out. With another spell, Hope sends everything away.

“Are you ready for the next part of our date?”

“What, wait, there’s more?”

“Of course there is. I told you that this wasn’t the end. You said that you wanted the dream to continue, who am I do disappoint?”

The younger girl bounced up and down on her toes with excitement. She couldn’t believe that there was someone out there that was willing to go to such lengths just to make her happy.

“You never disappoint me. Not once.”

They stand there staring into each other’s eyes for a beat. Long enough for both girls to blush but not long enough for either to give in a make a move.

Holding her hand out, Hope led Josie towards the next stop on their dream date.

“So, I was thinking of taking you into town so that we could watch a movie, but then I had a better idea. I know how much you hate it when people talk and give away what is going to happen or ruin it by talking over it.”

“I mean come on! In fairness, some of us hadn’t read the books and were going to watch the movie first!”

Hope chuckled at the brunette’s cuteness. The indignation in her voice made the short girl want to give her other reasons for her passion. Hope quickly shook that thought out of her mind. This was not the time for that.

“I know Jo, but I was the one that hadn’t read the book. You read the whole series, three times.”

The blush on Josie’s face made Hope melt. She could feel the butterflies, which felt more like pterodactyls, in her stomach.

“I want to make sure that we got to see a movie that you liked, and to ensure that there was no talking. So why don’t you do the honors and pull the curtain?”

Walking up to the door to the Old Mill, Josie pulled back the curtain to reveal a movie theater for two. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“What is this? Hope, I didn’t even know there was a spell for creating something like this.”

“Oh yeah, really powerful spell. Its call a Black Card with no credit limit.”

Spinning on her heels, the younger girl was clearly shocked. Hope didn’t mean to say that this was real and that she paid for it.

“Hope, you shouldn’t have done this, it is far too much!”

Smiling at the girl who had stolen her heart, though since she gave it willingly was it really stolen? Questions for another day. Hope found herself smiling softly and shaking her head.

“Josie, when are you going to learn, there is nothing that is too much for you. I would do anything for you, including spending all the money that my family worked hard to collect and that I did nothing to deserve.”

It took everything in Josie not to pull Hope into one of the deepest kisses that either have ever experienced. Instead, Josie threw her arms around the shorter girl’s neck and pulled her into a tight hug.

“You Hope, deserve everything, and I will spend forever if I have to, getting you to believe that.”

The hug lasted for what could have been a minute or an hour or a year. Neither girl seemed to want to release the other. When Josie lowered her head onto Hope’s shoulder, the tribrid made a decision. She lifted the witch up from where her arms were wrapped around her waist and smoothly carried her over to the theater seating that she had rented for the day. In one of her smartest moves, Hope opted to get a loveseat sized seat instead of two chairs.

Hope sat down bringing Josie with her. In the position that they were in, Josie wound up sitting on Hope’s lap. She smiled down at her date. Without having to talk about it, the two seamlessly fit together laid down and cuddled so that they were pressed together at every possible inch.

“So what movie are we going to watch?”

“What movie would you like to watch? The projector is hooked up to my computer. I have all the streaming services, and an extensive library of my own. You pick it and I have it somewhere.”

“So there is one movie that has been on my list to re-watch for a while. But I’m not sure that it would be to your taste. It’s kind of a... um, a movie that you wouldn’t normally watch.”

“Oh, I’m sure I have it! What’s the title?”

“ _Better Than Chocolate_.”

“I love that movie! It is hilarious when the mother starts knocking and they are in the shower!”

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Josie was shocked. She couldn’t believe that Hope knew this movie.

“You’ve seen it before?”

“Oh yeah! Aunts Freya and Keelin love this one. Though I have to say that if you want a laugh, _But, I’m A Cheerleader_ is better. Maybe we can watch both, or at least we can watch _But, I’m A Cheerleader,_ later?”

“Sounds good to me. Let’s see how we feel after the first film and go from there.”

Hope grabbed her laptop and pulled up the movie and started it. Once she sat the computer back down, the two girls cuddled deeper into each other and Hope pulled a blanket, seemingly from nowhere to cover them with.

“In case you get munchie, we have popcorn, Skittles, M&Ms, Twizzlers, and Oreos. We have soda, tea and water to drink.”

“So again, all my favorites. Did you get anything for you? What if we don’t eat or drink anything?”

“I got the Oreos and Skittles for me too. I also have dark chocolate. Anything left over will wind up back in my snack draw in my room for later. Now shhhh, the movie is starting.”

They managed to make it through the movie, right up until the end. They were watching the credits, when Hope couldn’t take it anymore. After watching a movie where two people meant to be almost lost each other because one couldn’t speak up and say what she wanted, Hope knew what she had to do. There was no way that she would risk losing Josie out of fear of rejection. Hope sat up and brought Josie with her. She didn’t bother to turn the screen off or to stop the credits.

“Um Josie, have you had a good day?”

“It has been a dream date Hope. The absolute best. I don’t think it could get any better.”

Nervously, Hope wiped her hands on the blanket before taking Josie’s hand and lacing their fingers together. This was the moment that she had been building up to since last night. She refused to chicken out now.

“I could always try. I have a question that I have been wanting to ask you for a while now. I’m really scared to ask you though, because I’m scared, for the first time ever in my whole life. I’m scared that after I ask my question, that I might lose you.”

“Oh Hope, you could never lose me. I will be with you forever. You are stuck with me.”

“Promise? No matter what?”

“Promise. No matter what. You and I are a package deal.”

Josie pulled the older girl into a comforting hug. She had never seen Hope this nervous before. It actually made her a little scared for what the question might be. What could be scary enough to frighten the tribrid?

“OK, Josie… Will you … um…Will you be my girlfriend?”

Josie eyes tripled in size and her heart felt like it just jumped out of her chest. Was she hearing things? Did Hope really just ask her to be her girlfriend?

“Did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?”

“Yes? I mean, yes.”

Josie paused just long enough that Hope thought that she had messed everything up. This was the moment that she feared most. The brunette was going to turn her down and thing would never be the same.

“You beat me to it.”

“What?”

“Well, I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend, and you beat me to it.”

Hope was getting a swelling in her chest that was sending the pterodactyl butterflies in to a frenzy. Did she hear her right? Did she just say what she thought she did?

“Is that a yes then?”

“Yes! That is absolutely a yes! I would love to be your girlfriend!”

Hope grabbed Josie and pulled her into her lap. They stared at each other for a solid minute, neither of them making a move to close the space further between them.

“Hope, can I kiss my girlfriend?”

“Please do.”

Josie leaned in to close the gap between them. Hope’s eyes slowly closed, as she wanted to watch for as long as possible the beautiful face coming towards her. Josie’s breath caught in her throat and she got closer to the soft pillow that were Hope’s lips. This was going to be the kiss that she had been craving.

Just as Josie’s lips breathed above Hope’s a loud screech made the jump.

“There you two are! What are you doing in here? Where did all of this come from?”

“Lizzie.”

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...? 
> 
> Anything you would like to see in the next chapters?


	6. I Am The Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revelations are made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to get to the good stuff, but I feel that I have been asked some questions that I want to make sure to answer. This is my answer to those questions. Hope you still like it!
> 
> @RVNthorne, thanks for the beta reading. Although I changed a lot and added like 2 1/2 more pages.

Both girls look over at the blonde twin that had just interrupted their moment. I mean, at least she didn’t come in two minutes ago but really, she couldn’t have waited five more minutes?

“Lizzie, did you not get the general life threatening threat that I left for the student body if anyone came down here before five o’clock?”

Lizzie just looked at the girls on the loveseat and smirked. She raised her wrist to show the time.

“Yeah I did, and it is six, so that’s on you.”

“No way! It’s been six hours? How did six hours go by and we didn’t realize it?”

Josie looked and Hope and just started to laugh. The look on the tribrid’s face was priceless. She could tell that the older girl wanted to yell at the blonde but she knew that she couldn’t.

“Ah, hon, it’s ok. How about we clean everything up and we can head back in? We could go to your room and talk some more.”

“Yeah right, talk, sure. That is what you were doing when I walked in.”

A growl escaped the older girl’s lips and her teeth were bared. She didn’t like it when people picked on Josie. She didn’t care if it was her sister or not.

As a shocked look came across the blonde twin’s face and she took half a step back, Hope suddenly felt a warmth on her cheek. She instantly calmed and turned her face to see her beautiful girlfriend.

“It’s ok Hope. She is just teasing. She doesn’t mean anything by it.”

Hope was completely calmed down and nuzzled her head into the crook of Josie neck and shoulder. She wrapped and arm back around the younger girl.

Josie smiled and kissed the top of the shorter girls head. She loved her so much. She loved the fact that she was so overly protective of her. If this was anyone else, she would be upset at them for threatening Lizzie, but she knew that Hope wasn’t do it because it was Lizzie, she was doing it because no one was allowed to harm, (i.e. tease, make fun of, or insult) Josie.

“Damn Jo, you calmed her down to a cute little puppy.”

The brunette felt Hope start to tense. She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and kissed her temple again, instantly calming her.

“Liz, are you trying to get yourself hurt.” Josie couldn’t help but laugh when she felt Hope smile into her neck.

Lizzie just held up her hands in surrender. She was not going to do anything else to upset these two. She heard her sisters underline warning. Even she could only calm Hope so much.

“I only came down here because dad told me to come find Hope. He wants to see her in his office now.”

“Why?”

Josie couldn’t think of any reason. He didn’t know that they were dating, since it had been all of ten minutes, and it couldn’t be the shovel talk.

“I don’t know. Some extreme woman was in there with him though and she looked like Penelope in twenty years.”

Both the girls tensed. They knew exactly who that woman was and what she was most likely here for. Well this was going to be interesting.

Hope untangled herself from her girlfriend, man she loved the sound of that. She stood up and was ready to head in to see the headmaster to get this over with.

“Well Jo, looks like the date is over. You should go back to your room with your sister. I have a feeling that this is not going to be pretty.”

“I’m not letting you go in there alone. You are only in trouble because you were defending and protecting me. I am going with you.”

Hope beamed with pride at this amazing girl in front of her. How did she ever get lucky enough that she actually like her back and wanted to be with her? She loved her with everything that she was and knew that there wasn’t anything that she would do for her.

“Thank you for that baby. I appreciate that you are willing to be there for me. But you know that your dad will tell you to go anyway.”

“Yeah he can try. I’m staying and neither you nor he will make me leave.”

Lizzie smiled at her sister, she was proud of her for sticking up for herself, even this little bit and she knew it was because of Hope. She let her know that she was worth it and that she was important. They really were perfect together.

“You might as well give up Hope. You know that look. Nothing is going to make her change her mind and she will get what she wants.”

Hope shook her head knowing that the blonde was right. There was no winning this argument, and honestly, she really didn’t want to be separated from Josie.

“Ok, let’s go get this over with. I was hoping to get in some cuddles before the day was over.”

****

The three girls returned to the school with in the next ten minutes. Hope had to call to have everything picked up and cleaned.

While she was on the phone arranging that, Lizzie was getting details about the date from Josie. Lizzie had to admit, it sounded amazing. The blonde was happy that her twin was finally getting what she deserved in the romance department.

Once returning to the school, the couple separated from Lizzie and walked to the headmaster’s office. They knocked and waited until they heard someone tell them to come in.

Once they entered, they saw Alaric talking with an older raven haired woman, who absolutely had to be Penelope’s mother.

When Alaric looked up and saw Josie, he frowned.

“Josie, honey, what are you doing here?”

“I came with Hope.”

“Well you need to leave. This meeting has nothing to do with you.”

Josie’s hold on Hope’s hand tightened. She wasn’t going to be dismissed.

“I’m not going anywhere. This has everything to do with me!”

Alaric looked as Hope pulled Josie closer to her and laced their fingers together. The look in his eyes was one of understanding. Thinking of all the information, everything made a lot more sense to him now, which in fact helped to strengthen his argument. Plus, if Josie could help at all to keep Hope from shredding and/or murdering anyone in this room, that would be fantastic.

“Fine. Stay.”

The woman looked like she was going to argue and Alaric just held up his hand stopping her before she started. He was already tried at this point, and he couldn’t take any more of her complaining.

“We aren’t going to win this one. It is a waste of time and energy at this point to try.”

“Well, no wonder your students act like this. You can’t even control your own children. I’ll show you how it is done!”

The woman turned towards Josie and raised her hand, and Hope jumped in front of her girlfriend and growled. Her eyes were glowing and her fangs were out and dripping poison. She took a step forward ready to advance on the woman for daring to raise a hand in Josie’s directions. Whether for a spell of physical blow, she really didn’t know who she was messing with.

“You are going to want to lower you hand very slowly and then not move otherwise.”

Alaric knew that he needed to get a hold of the situation, and fast. ‘Great now I have a pissed off and protective tribrid! Just perfect!’

“This is ridiculous! Get a hold of this creature now!”

The woman was trying to act like she wasn’t scared or nervous in this moment, however, Hope could smell the fear all over her. It just caused her natural instincts to heighten. Fear equaled prey. She growled again. No one messed with Josie. Josie belonged to Hope. She was her’s to protect. No one threatened what was her’s.

Suddenly, Hope felt all the anger wash away as a calming sensation like a warm blanket was enveloping her. What really happened was that Josie hugged her. She wrapped herself around Hope to the point that her calming scent, unafraid, was flooding her senses. The moment that those arms were around her, her fangs retracted and her eyes went back to blue.

“There’s my girl. Its ok, I’m fine. No one is going to hurt me. I know you will always protect me. I’m always safe as long as you are with me.”

Hope was soothed by the words. She wrapped Josie in her arms and pulled her closer to her. She took in her calming scent knowing that she was safe and had no fear helped her to control the urge to defend against attacks.

“Ok, now, I think that it is in everyone best interest that we take seats and calmly have a discussion.”

Everyone in the room sat down. Alaric behind his desk. The older woman at the chair furthest from the door facing him. Hope sat down in the other chair near the door and pulled Josie to sit on her lap. She wasn’t going to let go of her. She needed her to make sure that she was safe if she was going to stay calm.

“Girls, this is Mrs. Parks. She is Penelope’s mother and the head of the Parks Coven.”

“I know who she is.” Hope glared.

“Then I would think you would show me some respect.”

“I think you have that backwards. Oh wait, do you know who I am?”

“You are the tribrid mutt.”

Josie was about ready to jump out of Hope’s lap. No one got to call her that. She had no problem showing Penelope or her mother what happened when you bad mouthed Hope.

Hope only smirked. Josie, as angry as she was, was ready to calm her but she didn’t seem to care what this woman thought of her at all.

“That’s right. I am the tribrid mutt. The head of the Mikaelson family.”

Mrs. Parks paused for a moment at hearing this. She knew that she was a Mikaelson, but not the head of the family. This couldn’t be true, it had to be a bluff. She had expected to easily take control threatening to contact her Aunt.

Now the brunette understood her girlfriend’s smirk. This woman had thought that she had the upper hand. She thought that this was going to be so easy. Josie almost laughed in that moment.

As if sensing this, Hope turned to look into those brown eyes that she so loved, and winked.

“Hope, it was brought to my attention that you spelled Penelope. With several spells in fact.”

“Yes I did.”

“No denial or excuses? She isn’t even scared of you! What kind of school is this?”

Alaric looked at the woman with a flare of frustration. He had lost his patience with her a while ago. Who did she think she was? Why would you want children to fear you? Respect you yes, but not fear you.

“It is a wonderful school. One where we learn to be inclusive and we learn tolerance. However, what your daughter failed to learn was that you never mess with a Mikaelson. We are not a family that takes it lightly.”

Mrs. Park turned to look at the auburn haired girl. She had a sneer on her face. She wanted to yell and go after this impure mutt, but she also had to think ahead. This was chess not checkers.

“I see, you are going to blame the victim? You torment her solely because she broke up with this, girl?”

The tone in her voice was unquestionable loathing.

Hope eyes flashed again. She was growling a warning. This had gone on far enough. No one, and she does mean no one, insulted Josie. She had gone too far. Even Josie's calming hand couldn’t settle her this time.

“No, I am teaching your brat of a daughter a very valuable lesson. Something that apparently all of the Parks Coven needs to learn. You don’t mess with a Mikaelson or those that we claim as ours. You **will** show respect or you **will** face the consequences. And never call our bluffs, because a Mikaelson **NEVER** bluffs. Now I warned Penelope, repeatedly. She had multiple chances to back down. She refused every opportunity I afforded her. And the only, ONLY reason that she didn’t get worse, is because of this incredible girl right here! She asked me not to harm her physically, so I didn’t. Now, after we walked away and I let her go, she decided that the smart thing to do would be to would to be to come and try to start trouble. She knew what she was doing and she knew the consequences. I clearly spelled it out for her. And again, I didn’t do what I wanted because, Josie made me promise. So both you and your Satan spawn so be on your knees thanking her!”

Alaric was taken aback, he had not missed the fact that Hope said that she claimed Josie, but that was a talk for another day. Now he needed to make sure that Hope didn’t do something he would regret. He really needed her to take a breath and calm down, however, suggesting that would be stupid as it would do the opposite to the tribrid.

“Ok, I think we need to calmly discus this. Get upset isn’t going to solve this.”

Mrs. Parks decided to use that only option that she had left in her arsenal. It was the one thing that she could get away with and not enrage the other Mikaelsons.

“Headmaster. I demand that she be disciplined for what she did to my daughter! I want her expelled!”

Hope burst out laughing in that moment. She looked like she were having a manic moment she was laughing so hard.

Alaric looked at her with apprehension. This was not the reaction that he thought that she would be having to the threat of expulsion. Most would be upset about that. Hell he was upset at hearing that and Josie looked about in tears.

“Hope, honey, did you hear what she just said?”

Hope looked at Josie, and wiped away her tears. She leaned in and gave her a kiss to her cheek and then pulled her phone from her pocket. She quickly dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end of the line to pick up.

“Yeah, hey. I need you here now. Yeah Alaric’s office. We’ll wait. Thank you.”

Everyone in the room just looked at Hope.

“Who did you just call?”

The auburn haired girl said nothing. She looked over to Josie and then took her hand and pulled her up for a hug. She whispered something that the other’s in the room couldn’t hear. The brunette pulled back with a mix of shock and laughter on her face.

“Oh, I am so glad that I am here to see this but not on the receiving end.”

Just then, Freya Mikaelson appeared, via astral projection.

“Hope, honey! What’s the matter? Why did you need me?”

“Aunt Freya. Let me introduce you to Mrs. Parks, the head of the Parks Coven. She would like Alaric to expel me from school. Would you like to explain why that is not going to happen? They don’t seem to want to listen to me today, so I thought that it may be better coming from you.”

Freya laughed. She couldn’t help herself. The other adults in the room looked confused.

“Can someone please tell me why everyone keeps laughing? What is so funny about expelling this girl for what she has done to my daughter?”

Freya turned to Hope with a raised brow. Silently asking what she did.

“Remember the girls when I was twelve? The ones that were picking on Josie and mom tried to talk me into letting go?”

“Yes.”

“Penelope did worse to Josie. Mom wasn’t here as an option, not that it worked last time. Jo made me promise not to physically harm her so I didn’t. I took a page out of the Mikaelson playbook.”

“What did you do Hope. I just need to know what level Mikaelson you went.”

“I think mom would have secretly been proud, though never would have admitted it. Dad would have bought me a present, possibly a car.”

“Oh good lord, that is scary.”

“Hey, I’m pretty sure Auntie Bex and you are going to love it. I know Kol will approve. Elijah would have told me that I showed honor in protecting my own.”

Freya again raised an eyebrow. Something that everyone would approve including Hayley. Hope explained every detail of what she had done. When she was finished Freya looked at her with what could only be described as pride.

“Well, I think that last spell for the dates was a little much.”

“That’s what I said.”

Everyone looked at Josie in that moment. Freya walked closer to her.

“So you must be Josie. I think I will like you. Hayley told me a lot about you. Hayley like you. She always thought that you and Hope would make a totally epic love.”

Hope and Josie both had tears shining in their eyes and red cheeks. Hayley had liked her and thought that Hope and she should be together.

“Mom said that specifically? That we were a totally epic love?”

“Yes, those were her exact words after the last visit that she had here. Something about the way that you gravitate to each other. The way that you let Josie stand next to you and not forcing her behind you.”

Hope’s eyes locked with Josie’s. Blue blending to brown. Her mother’s words coming back to her. ‘Have at least one totally epic love.’ She knew, she was telling her and still allowing her to discover it for herself, but she knew.

Freya turned away from the girls, leaving them to have a silent moment alone after the revelation. She knew why Hope had asked, Hayley had told Freya a lot about the brunette that seem to tame the beast in her daughter.

“Now, to the point of this expulsion. Alaric, you know that you can’t expel Hope right?”

“I know that we need her help with monsters, however, I can’t give her special treatment. All students have to follow the rules.”

The older blonde chuckled at that. This was going to be fun. Apparently the headmaster knew nothing.

“Apparently you don’t know.” Turning to Hope she smirked. “Now I see why you called me.”

“Okay, should we start with the Parks or the Salvatore School?”

“School first, it will make the Parks more fun. At least for me.”

Josie grabbed Hope and pulled her back down to sit with her. She need to be in Hope’s arms right now. The older girl had whispered what was about to happen. She felt bad for her dad, a little.

“Fine, school first. Alaric, do you have the deed to the school and the information that Caroline and you signed when Klaus gave you the funding originally?”

Alaric looked confused and nodded his head. He pulled out all of the paper work including the deed from the filing cabinet.

“If you look at the deed, whose name is it in?”

Alaric looks confused. He was sure that it was in Caroline’s. Since it was her husband’s house. Looking, however, he was completely taken aback.

“Hope Andrea Mikaelson.”

“Great, now if you would look at the contract that you and Caroline signed. And trust me, Klaus made sure that Caroline knew hundred percent of what this said and compelled a lawyer to explain it thoroughly to her, so this is not an issue of tricking her.”

The headmaster read the contact. He probably should have done this before signing it instead of trusting Caroline.

“Are you kidding me with this?”

“He just read my favorite part. I can tell.”

“Wait, you have read this Hope? Why didn’t you ever say anything about this?”

“For the same reason that I called Freya to go over it. You adults think that you know everything and you never listen. I don’t waste my words.”

Josie nuzzled a little more into her neck. She really loved when Hope was confident like this. It was just shy of cocky, out full of knowing that she was in the right. Again, she felt a little bad for her dad, but, he kind of did this to himself.

“Would someone please tell me what is happening?” Mrs. Parks huffed.

“Oh, we are getting there. It will be a nice transition into our talk about your little coven.”

Finally, the look on the coven leader’s face started to crack and a small amount of fear slipped into her mask.

“So as you can see, this school belongs to Hope. She owns the land, buildings, and everything attached. Which is why she should have to invite anyone in. The contact that you and Hope have both signed, allow you to invite vampires onto the grounds. Also according to this contract, you and Caroline are employees of the school, i.e. of Hope’s. It also states that at the completion of high school Hope is granted supervision of the requirements and admissions. Upon getting a degree in education, she will fully take over the school when she deems fit. ”

The older man looked up at the girl that he has come to think of as a protégé. He couldn’t believe that this whole time, she has been writing his checks.

“How is that even possible? She is only 17. She doesn’t even have a school bank account!”

“That is also why she called me. Klaus set it up in trust until her eighteenth birthday. She has private accounts. Every Milaelson, save for myself as I now have a son, had or signed a will that everything goes to Hope in the event of their deaths. So that means, that Klaus, Hayley, and Elijah, left everything to her. In 3 months everything is turned over to her completely. Until then I am in charge, technically. However, for the most part, since she turned sixteen I have been allowing her to call the shots. There was only once that I have ever gone against her request.”

“And I was right about that one too! You know I was!”

“We are not having that argument again. I still refuse.”

“Its fine, you said it yourself, three months, then I’m in charge.”

Josie turned to look at the shorter girl. The smirk on her face was worrisome.

“Do I even want to know?”

Freya responded before Hope had a chance to.

“Hope thought that we should make a few changes to the curriculum. She shouldn’t be taking three courses, which not three full courses I have to agree with that point. Also, witches need to learn offensive spells. Wolves have a forest and are caged during the moon, and vampires don’t have full range of their powers on animal blood. With a few exceptions, the students of this school need a real education, not coddling. I am concerned about certain aspects. Checks and balances and we are working it out still. Hope promised that she would hold off on these changes until she fully took charge.”

“And why did I promise? Because Freya gave good solid reasons and she respects me so I respect her enough to listen.”

Hope couldn’t help but to take this dig at the other adults in the room. The ones that truly needed to learn how to give respect and not just expect it to be given.

Every eye in the room was on Hope. Some with astonishment and others with bewilderment. Freya with pride. They raised a good, smart woman.

“Now on to the Parks Coven. Do you remember the contract that you signed when you took over as the leader of the coven? Did you read it?”

Mrs. Parks stood up with her back straight and her nose in the air.

“I did. I signed a contract that stated that our Coven was sworn to your family and that as the leader I would answer to the head of the Mikaelson family. That it is my responsibility to keep the peace. In exchange for us being in your service for any and all magic related assistance demanded, we are granted your protection and are guaranteed that should a war come, you will fight on our side, or we will be left out of it if it comes to you and the other covens.”

Freya nodded her head the entire time. She was actually glad that this woman was only half stupid. It really did make this whole situation that much easier.

“Great, then this should be simple. Guess who the head of the Mikaelson family is?”

“I would think that it would be you as you are the oldest.”

“Yes, those with less intelligence usually think that. Mikaelsons don’t really care about age. After a thousand years or so, you learn that older doesn’t mean wiser. Just like not all power is the same. Klaus wasn’t the oldest, yet he was the head of our family.”

“Who would be strong and powerful enough, not to mention have the cunning and the intellect, to control a family like yours if not you?”

“That would again be me. I was taught by every Mikaelson. Add on to that the teaching and guidance from Dr. Saltzman and others that have befriended my family and there is no one stronger or more cunning in the family. Also, as I have proven, time and again, my spells are more powerful than any others. Not even Freya can undo them if I don’t want them to be broken. Ask your daughter about that.”

“Every spell has a loophole. Even a strong one.”

Hope’s smirk would rival that of Klaus himself. She was enjoying this meeting far too much. She really should thank Dr. Saltzman for it later.

“Oh, there is a loophole. Two to be exact.”

Freya shook her head while laughing. She was going to stop her, but then decided that she was going to allow her niece have this one revelation. After all, it really was too hilarious.

“What’s the loophole Hope?” Josie was curious.

“You and Lizzie can siphon away the magic.”

The room went silent. Everyone started to understand exactly what that meant. The twins would never go against Hope. Especially now that Josie and Hope were dating.

“So you are telling me that the only thing that can undo one of your spells is his daughters, unless you choose to release it. Nothing else at all?”

“Josie and Lizzie! That is your magic’s loophole! You have to be kidding me!”

While it seemed the other adults in the meeting where gearing up for yet another round, Freya was ready to go home at this point so she needed to get this whole mess settled.

“Okay, to end this, because I have a kid at home that needs to be put to bed, Hope owns the school and is in charge of all funding and ever decision that is made. She is the bridge to your coven and our family. Hope please stop gluing people to the ceiling, in all honesty, I know that we each have our go to, but could you maybe, for me, think of something… less. Josie, you are a lovely girl and it was very nice to meet you. I want you to know that you have an open invitation to the compound anytime. Actually, please visit with Hope during Spring Break. Any other questions, please work it out with Hope and she will call me tomorrow to fill me in on anything that I need to know.”

With the finality of that announcement, Freya ended the astral projection.

Hope squeezed Josie’s waist and gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek, before standing back up to address the adults in the room.

“So, I want to make this clear to start. Alaric, you are still in charge of this school. I don’t intend to take over and start telling you how to run the school. You are the headmaster and you will be for as long as you choose to be.”

Alaric nodded. He truly was grateful that Hope was the woman that she was. She had truly grown into herself and far exceeded all expectations.

“Mrs. Parks, I will honor our agreement between my family and your coven, however, you need to reign in your daughter. I will remove the spells from her if you can get her to agree to leave me and the twins be. I don’t want a war, but I will not tolerate disrespect to me or mine. Make no mistake, this is the last warning that I will give. After that, I will get angry and anyone who has ever seen me truly angry can tell you that this is not something that you want to see or be on wrong side of. Are we clear?”

The older woman sat up stiffly but nodded her agreement.

With a complete change in her attitude, Hope turned back to her headmaster with a smile.

“Great, now, Dr. Saltzman, if you need to give me detention or suspend me that is whatever. Otherwise, I would like to get on with my day. Nothing that was said in here has to go beyond us four. I don’t need to deal with everyone knowing this. In fact if it does, I will find out who it came from and we will have words. Have a great night.”

Hope turned to Josie and held out her hand with a smile that is reserved just for the younger girl. Josie took her hand and wrapped herself around Hope’s arm as they walked out of the office together.

“So, now that all that drama is taken care of, you want to come back to my room with me?”

Josie raised an eyebrow at the shorter girl with a smirk dancing on her lips.

“I didn’t mean it like that and you know it. Although, I mean…”  
The brunette giggles and shoves Hope on the shoulder. Then, just as suddenly, she grabs her by the collar of her shirt and brings their lips crashing together.

Hope instantly melts into the kiss. Her arms wrap around Josie’s waist as Josie’s go around her neck. Their bodies merge together and they seems to be trying to become one. The kiss was far more intense than anything that they had yet shared.

Hope started to walk Josie backwards, never breaking the kiss or slowing it down, until she was pushed up against a wall opposite her father’s office. When the younger girl’s back hit the wall she let out a moan which allowed Hope to slip her tongue into her mouth. The tribrid ran her tongue all over exploring ever portion of her warm wet welcoming mouth.

As oxygen became an issue, Josie tilted her head back so that she could breath. Hope took that as an invitation to trail kisses down her throat. She was nipping and sucking with abandon. She couldn’t take her lips off of her girl. She was her drug of choice and she was fully addicted.

“Hope, oh baby, that f-feels so good. But we have to…”

Josie’s words were cut off when Hope bit down softly on her pulse point, causing a loud moan to escape the brunette’s lips.

Pulling back from Josie, Hope looked at her love, who look thoroughly disheveled. Hope wanted to capture this image and keep it forever. And as much as she wanted nothing more than to continue this, the hallway was no place for this particular activity. She didn’t want anyone but herself to ever see Josie like this.

“So about going to my room?”

“Yes, now!”

The girls grabbed each other’s hands and ran to Hope’s room and locked the door. If you asked them later, they would say that it was the perfect end to the perfect date. As far as Josie’s neck, she could have used a spell, but Hope really liked looking at her neck.

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything that anyone wants to see?


	7. I'll Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night before Spring Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am writeing 4 other stories and they all want my attention. the devils and demons are taking over. I am trying to make sure to update this at least once a week.

It had been six weeks since the day in Alaric’s office with Mrs. Parks and amazingly, everything has been calm. Penelope got the message and had backed off and was leaving Hope and the twins be. They were all happy that that drama was over.

Due to the fact that Penelope was harassing Josie, Hope didn’t get suspended, nevertheless, she had gone too far and Alaric felt that she needed to understand that. She was given a week detention and was grounded to her room except for meals for that week. In all fairness, she did go a bit far with the spells but it appeared that everyone finally learned their lesson. No one messes with Josie or they would deal with Hope.

Currently the girls were in Josie’s room, packing her bags for Spring Break. Turns out that Freya was serious and had actually extended an invitation to Josie to visit with Hope during vacation.

“This is going to be so great Jo! I get to show you all over my home town. I’ll take you down to the Bayou while we are there and you can meet my mom’s pack. Aunt Keelin is their Alpha now. Oh and you have to try a fresh made beignet. They are the best when they are fresh.”

Josie was smiling at her girlfriend with affection. She loved how enthusiastic she was to show of her home town. She knew that she really missed her home. She was really happy to get to go home with her and to play tourist.

If she was honest though, she was so nervous too. She was meeting Hope’s whole family for the first time. She knew what Freya had said about Hayley liking her, but what if no one else did? What if they hated her? What if they didn’t want Hope to be with her? Without noticing, she had worked herself into a panic. Would Hope break up with her if her family didn’t like her?

“Jo, baby, what’s wrong? I’m here, breathe for me honey. In through the nose out through the mouth. That’s it.”

“I’m ok. It’s nothing. I’m sorry.”

“No Josie. It wasn’t nothing and you have nothing to be sorry about. Tell me, please?”

Josie looked down towards the ground as she started to play with her fingers. She knew that she couldn’t avoid telling Hope. She would make her talk because she doesn’t like it when she is upset.

“Hey, Jo, it’s just me. You can tell me anything. You know that I always have you. I’m always going to be here for you.”

Josie flung her arms around Hope’s neck and hugged her so tight that had she been human she would be choking her.

“Ok Jo, I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to hug you so tight, but you have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”

“I’m glad, but why the panic attack?”

“Um, I was just thinking about meeting your family. What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t want you to date me?”

The older girl burst into a fit of laughter. She was doubled over and couldn’t breathe for laughing so hard.

When she looked up, the look Josie gave her sobered her up. It was a look that broke her heart. The brunette looked like she was going to cry.

Hope picked her up and sat down on the brunette’s bed placing her on her lap.

“Josie, they will love you. You are all any of them have been able to talk about since I told them that you were coming with me. Freya already half loves you just cause of what my mom told her. She was also impressed apparently with the way that you ‘handled’ me.”

“Really? But what if they don’t. What if they meet me and decide that they don’t like me?”

“Then they are missing out on the greatest person on the face of the earth and it will be their loss. I am with you and nothing is ever going to change that. You could dump me and tell me that you hated me and never wanted to see me again. I would be crushed, heart broken, and then stalk you to make sure that you are always safe.”

Josie giggled a little at her girlfriend. She was so perfect, she always knew what to say to make her feel better.

“Well, you should know that I am always going to want you and I will never tell you to go away from me or to leave me alone. I want you to be with me for always. You are stuck with me as long as I live.”

Hope leaned in and pressed the softest most loving kiss on Josie’s lips. She wanted this kiss to express every ounce of love that she help for the younger girl. She wanted her to know that it wasn’t just words that she spoke, but a promise. She needed her to feel everything that she held in her heart for her.

Just as Josie was about to slide her hand into the auburn hair that she loved so much there was a banging at her door.

“Every time!”

Josie gave Hope one more small peck before walking over to open the door. Lizzie was standing there looking perturbed.

“Lizzie why are you knocking?”

“Because every time I don’t, I end up walking in on you and wolfie making out. I am scarred enough to last two life times thank you very much!”

“You’re exaggerating! We don’t make out that much.”

She turned back around to look at her girlfriend for confirmation and noticed that Hope wouldn’t meet her eyes. What she did see was a faint blush forming on the girls ivory skin.

“Hope! We don’t make out all the time. We talk and watch movies and study together and all kinds of things!”

“Yes, we do all that. It just so happens that we usually end up at one point or another kissing.”

The taller girl looked at her with outrage. That just couldn’t be true, could it?

“I can’t help myself. I look at you and your big brown beautiful eyes looking at me. And your pouty full lips just begging to be kissed. I lose myself every time. I can’t help it.”

As Hope spoke she had unconsciously had moved closer to the other girl. Leaning in to kiss those lips. She was so close that she could feel Josie’s breath on her.

“See what I mean! Every time!”

Lizzie huffed over to the two girls and grabbed Hope by the arm and dragged her over to the door. She opened it and shoved her out and across the threshold.

“I declare it sister bonding time until we leave for the airport in the morning! We are going to be separated for ten days and you will have her all to yourself. Bye Hope.”

Before either of the other girls could say anything at all, the blonde slammed the door and locked it.

“Lizzie that was rude. You could have at least let me tell her good night.”

“If I would have let you tell her good night, then you would be back in her room and I wouldn’t get to see you at all before we leave tomorrow.”

“Ok, Liz, we can have sister bonding time, but I want to say goodnight to Hope. Five minutes, I promise.”

“Okay, But I’m counting.”

Josie pulls the door open and there stood a chaotic and depressed looking Hope. Josie’s heart hurt at the sight of her girl.

“Oh baby.”

Hope looked up and you could see in her eyes that she wanted to cry but was fighting it.

“You didn’t even say goodnight and she just threw me out.”

Turning back to her sister she glared at her like she was the most evil vile person in the whole world for putting this look on her sweet girls face.

“Look what you did Lizzie!”

Lizzie actually felt a little bad. She knew that her sister and the tribrid have become even more devoted since becoming a couple. They rotated sleeping in the twin’s room or Hope’s each night. Like it physically pained them to be separated.

“Fine she can stay the night with us, but I get to pick the movie and no making out!”

Hope still didn’t raise her eyes. She didn’t seem to react at all to this. Lizzie and Josie both looked at each other with a bit of worry in their eyes.

“Hope, honey. Are you ok?”

Josie reached out and took her girls hand and tugged her forward a bit. The shorter girl stumbled right into her arms and into a hug. Hope held on to Josie for dear life like she was suddenly going to disappear.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“You didn’t say goodnight or goodbye and you were just gone.”

“I wasn’t gone baby. Hope I’m right here.”

Josie hold on her tightened. She wanted the shorter girl to know that she was still her with her.  
“Shit Hope. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that you would take it this hard. I figured that you knew that Josie was safe and with me. You don’t get this upset when you guys have different classes and activities.”

“But we always say goodbye first. She never leaves without a goodbye or see you later.”

Josie held Hope tightly to her so that she could feel her and hear her heart beating clearly. She wasn’t sure why this had affected her so much, but she had an idea.

“I’m not going anywhere Hope. I’m right here. I’m safe.”

The older girl gripped her tighter and held her like she was afraid that she was going to vanish at any moment.

Looking over Hope’s shoulder at her sister, she motioned for her to leave them alone for a few minutes. Thankfully, Lizzie was really good at understanding what her sister wanted when she paid attention.

“I’m going to go get some snacks and drinks and stuff. I’ll be back.”

After the blonde left, Josie walked her girl over to lay down. She pulled her in close so that they were pressed tightly together and wrapped fully around one another.

Josie knew that, even with it not being the same thing, certain things could trigger a reaction and bring forth memories that haunt you.

Once she was sure that the girl in her arms had calmed down some and was secure within her arms, she softly spoke.

“Hope, I know that you don’t’ like to leave without a goodbye. I know why.”

Hope looked up at her, tears in her eyes. She could see the pleading there to not make her say it.

“I know that especially with us about to go back to your home, you have to be thinking about your parents right now. I know that you didn’t get proper goodbyes. Even without it at the fore front, I have noticed that you never leave anywhere without a goodbye.”

Hope looked at her girl with the tears flowing freely now. She was thankful that Josie understood without her having to talk about it.

“I need you to know that I am not going anywhere. I am not leaving you. But I will always say goodbye or see you later. You need to know, that no matter what, I will fight hell itself to make sure that I don’t leave you. You have to know that you will never lose me.”

Hope buried her head into Josie’s shoulder and cried a mix of anguish and relief. She knew that she was overreacting. Josie was safe and there was nothing bad going to happen between now and the morning. Josie was with her sister. But she couldn’t help the dread she felt whenever anyone she cared about left her without first giving her a goodbye. Especially when it was someone that she cared about as deeply as she did for Josie.

“The last time that my aunt left the country without telling me before she did it without saying goodbye, I locked myself in my room for three days and had a panic attack. Your dad had to finally call Aunt Bex and force her to call me before I could calm down.”

“Why didn’t I know about this?”

“You were in Europe visiting your mother at the time. We weren’t dating then. Your dad wasn’t going to talk about another student and I didn’t want you to know that I was an idiot.”

Josie was angry now. How dare anyone, even Hope herself talk about Hope this way?

“You listen to me right now Hope! You are not an idiot! You are a girl who has been through a lot in your life. You don’t give yourself the time or the space you always need to heal and to feel what you need to. You keep all of your fears and anxieties to yourself because you are worried that someone will think that you are weak but you’re not. You are the strongest person that I know.”

“But, I just, I can’t talk about this stuff. When I try I feel like I am just whining and I shouldn’t.”

“Oh, so when I have an issue am I whining?”

“No! Of course not! I am always here for you when you need to talk. I’ll always listen. I… just walked right into your point didn’t I?”

“And I appreciate that you did the work for me there.”

Josie leaned over and kissed Hope on the forehead and then hugged her tighter.

“It’s you and me. Always will be. For now on, you tell me when you are having anxiety and I will help you how ever I can.”

“Ok. I guess I should go before Lizzie gets back. This was supposed to be your sister time.”

Before either girl could move or say anything Lizzie was walking back into the room with her arms loaded with snacks and drink. It seems that she brought enough for a small country.

“So I think that I have enough here. I’m never sure with Hope’s wolf side. She always eats so much.”

Both girls looked up as Lizzie dropped everything at the foot of Josie’s bed. Lizzie looked at them with a question in her eyes that she wasn’t willing to ask.

“I was just about to go so you could have your sister time. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You aren’t going anywhere wolfie so sit back down.”

Josie looked at her twin curiously. She was happy that she no longer wanted Hope to leave, but she wanted to make sure that this wasn’t guilt and that she wasn’t going to be upset later.

“Hope, did you finish packing your bags?”

“Almost. I just need to put my passport and ticket in my carry one and then I’m good.”

“Why don’t you do that and put on your pjs and then come back here, ok?”

Hope smiled and nodded. She leaned over and kissed Josie softly on her cheek.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“See you in a few.”

Hope stopped and looked to Lizzie.

“See you in a few?”

“Yes you will. I’ll leave the door unlocked for you. Bye Hope.”

With that, the tribrid left the room, knowing that the sisters needed a few moments to talk.

“Is she ok? I didn’t mean to hurt her. She looked so scared.”

“She is fine now.”

“What happened? What did I do? I don’t want to see her like that again.”

Josie was so proud of her twin. Once everyone thought that she was selfish because they didn’t take the time to get to know her. But she was slowly starting to let other people see what Josie always knew, she was sensitive and caring.

“She didn’t say goodbye before you kicked her out. It made her think of her parents.”

“Oh shit! I didn’t even think about that. I’m such an ass.”

“No Liz, you couldn’t have known. I didn’t even know until just now.”

Lizzie started to pace at the end of the bed. She felt so bad for causing Hope that pain. She knew what it was like to have panic attacks and to feel abandoned. She should have known better.

Just as Lizzie was getting worked up, Hope walked in.

“What happened? What wrong? Is everything ok?”

The tribrid grabbed the blonde witch and brought her in for a tight hug. She just looked over her shoulder and shot Josie a worried questioning look.

Josie shook her head and walked over to hug her two favorite people. They were both just as bad.

“Liz is freaking out because she is worried that you will be mad at her because she caused you to panic. You both are the exact same. You need to stop blaming yourselves for everything and talk when you have issues. Stop bottling it all up.”

All three girls looked at each other and were silently thinking. Then Hope started laughing and within seconds the twins were laughing too.

“How about we all promise to be there for each other and to talk more so that this doesn’t happen anymore.”

“Agreed.”

“Sounds good.”

“Now can we please watch a movie? My pick of course.”

“Of course Liz.”

All three girls piled on to Josie bed and snuggled together. For the rest of the night they watched stupid comedies and ate junk and laughed and talked. They acted like the teenaged girls that they were for one night.

Finally, as all three had flights in the morning, they went to bed. Still not ready to let go, all three cuddled together for the night. Josie spooned Hope and Lizzie spooned Josie.

When Alaric came to wake them in the morning, this is exactly how he found them. Part of him wanted to be upset that Hope was in bed with his daughter, but seeing as it was all three of them and they were all clothed and looked peaceful, he was going to let it go.

Once he dropped them at the airport, Alaric hugged all three girls making them promise to call him when they arrived at their respective destinations. With promises given, the girls went to check in.

After getting through security, Lizzie had to go to the left, while the other two were headed to the right.

“Call me when you land Lizzie. Let me know that you are safe.”

“Yeah. Text me when you land so that I will see it when I land.”

“Promise. I’ll see you in ten days. Have a great vacation!”

“You two have fun. See you when you get back!”

All three girls shared a group hug. This was going to be fun, but they would miss each other.

“Bye Liz. We’ll be sure to bring you back something from the Big Easy.”

“Thank you Hope. I’ll see you later. Take care and take care of my sister. If anything happens to her, I will kill you.”

“If anything happens to her I’ll let you. See you next week.”

The girls walked away after one last hug. Overhead was the announcement for Hope and Josie’s flight.

“Now board for direct to New Orleans.”

“Ready to start our adventure?”

“Completely ready.”

**T.B.C.**


	8. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope takes Josie home to meet the family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the slight delay. This week has been extreme! I had orientation for grad school and the reading is over 800 pages. I also apparently forgot how to sleep so that has been fun.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is reading this and to those of you who comment, you are keeping me going!

The girls landed in the early afternoon and were already tired. Traveling took a lot out of Josie. Hope had spent the flight helping her girlfriend to focus on anything but the motion of the plane.

When they made it out of the gate with their luggage, Freya was waiting for them. She held out a sign that made the girls laugh in embarrassment.

**HOSIE**

“Really Aunt Freya?”

“What? Keelin thought it was cute.”

“And was it her idea or yours?”

“What do you think? Look at it!”

It was done in rainbow colors and covered in glitter. There were streamers attached to it and just screamed to the world.

“Aunt Keelin.”

They both laughed while Josie looked confused.

“It’s sweet and cute. What’s wrong with it?”

Freya looked and Josie and then turned back to Hope smirking. Hope shrugged her shoulders and smiled before taking their bags and loading them into the car. Her girl was just like Keelin when it came to gestures such as this one.

“This is going to be so much fun when Kol gets in. Rebekah is already at the compound. I had to fight to get her to agree not to come pick you up. I thought I would give you a moment to breathe first.”

“Please tell me that Aunt Davina could come to and that Kol isn’t here alone?”

“Yes, Davina came too. She promised that she would make him behave.”

Freya wrapped her arm around Josie’s shoulder and leaned in a little like she was telling her a secret.

“Don’t worry too much. They will mostly pick on Hope and only be a little embarrassing. Plus, you and I both know that one there is going to be her overprotective self and will probably try to make us Mikaelson’s behave.”

“I’m not worried. You’re Hope’s family. Family is important. I can take a little poking.”

The blonde smiled brightly. She could really understand why Hayley had like her so much. She could see the waves of goodness flowing from her. She had to say, based on the little she knew and from what Hope told her, she completely agreed.

“Who wants to ride up front with me?”

“Actually Aunt Freya, Josie has motion sickness, and it helps if she can close her eyes and be distracted. So we are going to sit in the back together. Maybe nap.”

Freya nodded in understanding. She was pretty sure that she had a spell or a potion at home that may help the young witch with that. She would have to look for it later.

The girls climbed into the back seat together. Josie curling into Hope so that she could try to sleep during the short car ride. Mostly, Josie slept, and Hope held her and stroked her hair and rubbed her back.

When they arrived to the compound, Hope woke the sleeping girl gently. She knew that this trip had been really hard on her girl.

“Hey baby, time to get up, we’re here.”

Josie woke with a soft smile as she looked up into the loving face of her girlfriend. She really could not think of a better way to wake up.

“We’re there already? That was fast.”

“Yeah we are, and I can already hear a full house.”

Turning to her aunt, the shorter girl gave her a pleading look. She wanted to make sure that this wasn’t going to be an ambush on the poor girl. Freya nodded her head in understanding and wrapped an arm around both girls.

“We’ll leave the bags for now. I’ll make Kol bring them in later.”

Freya guided the girls into the compound and instinctively found her way to where she knew her wife would be with their son.

“Hey honey, look what I found while I was out. Can we keep them?”

Keelin laughed at her wife. She loved to see the more playful side. Something that she got to see slightly more often since the birth of their son.

“I don’t know babe. Who is going to feed and water them, and take them on walks?”

“But they are just so cute!”

“You know, if you are just going to mock us, we could just go and stay at one of the other houses for the week.”

“Sorry, but that is going to be a ‘No’ love.”

“Aunt Bex!”

Hope ran over and jumped into her aunt’s waiting arms. It had been a long time since they had seen each other. Rebekah had been traveling with Marcel and hasn’t been in the states for a while.

“I have missed you little one.”

“I have missed you too. I want to introduce you to someone, very important to me.”

Hope walks over and takes Josie’s hand. She leads her over to her aunt.

“Auntie Bex, this is Josie, my girlfriend, Josie this is my Aunt Rebekah.”

The blonde looked over the young girl in front of her, as if she were sizing her up. She had an unreadable look on her face that gave nothing away.

“I like her. Welcome to the family.”

And with that, Josie was wrapped into the ancient vampire’s arms being twirled around. She started to giggle at the unexpected event.

“Okay, okay. Put the girlfriend down and step away.”

Josie was still giggling as Hope stepped up to pull her back from her aunt. It seemed that Hope was protective no matter who it was. It was so cute. Josie leaned into her girlfriend’s side and hugged her arm.

“Look what we have here.”

Turning around, Hope was engulfed in a head lock. Instincts kicking in, she automatically grabbed the assailant and flipped them onto their back. Before she could follow through with the strike that she had aimed at their neck, she pulled up.

“One of these days, you are going to learn not to telegraph your moves Uncle Kol.”

“How was that telegraphed? I came up from behind you and had you in a headlock.”

“First mistake was that you spoke. Second was that you didn’t go for the instant kill. You know, you hung out with dad and Uncle Elijah for centuries, you would think that you would have learned a few things.”

The Mikaelson women were all laughing at this point. None so much as Davina. She did enjoy watching her husband being taken down by a teenaged girl.

“Hi honey. We missed you. How have you been?”

Hope took her foot off of her uncle and walked over to hug her aunt. She had missed Davina. She was the closest in age to herself and was well versed in dealing with all of the Mikaelsons. She was counting on her to help keep everyone in line this week.

“I’ve been doing really well.”

“Yeah, we heard. How many girls ended up on the ceiling this time? I told you that you have to mix it up a bit or they were going to think you boring.”

“For your information Aunt Davina, it was one girl, and it was the wall not the ceiling. And that is not why Aunt Freya got called in. That was the other things I did to her.”

Davina raised her brow and gave a curious look. Hope was going to have fun filling her in on everything that has been happening with her life. She always had enjoyed the talks that they had. It felt more like gossiping with an older sister.

“Ok, now, since everyone is her. Josie, this is my family that is going to be on their absolute best behavior and not embarrass me this week.”

Hope introduced, while give each member a pointed look. She was not going to let them scare her girlfriend off.

“Everyone, this is my amazing, talented, beautiful, sweet, and all around perfect girlfriend, Josie.”

The brunette dipped her head to hide how red her cheeks were. She loved the way that Hope saw her, but did she really have to introduce her like that.

Keelin was the first to laugh. She could see it already, Hope was whipped for her girl. She was going to tease her all week. She had to admit, Freya was right, they did make a cute couple.

“Okay, let’s move this along. Kol get the bags, Freya, please take Nik. Everyone else, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. Go freshen up and met in the dining room.” 

Everyone split up at the command given by the doctor. Hope pulled Josie behind her and headed for her room. Kol would bring the bags up for them in a minute.

Opening the door to her childhood room, the shorter girl ushered the taller girl in. The first thing that Josie noticed was that the room was very ‘Hope’. There were paintings hanging and leaning against the walls. Her easel with wheat looked like paints at the ready were in one corner, just like they were left earlier that morning instead of months ago.

The desk was neat and clean. It sported an old fashioned ink and quill set that looked to have been well used. The paper was older as well. Blank and the kind that was better suited for rolling and tying with string or ribbon.

The wall opposite had a huge entertainment center. It had a stereo system that appeared to be able to play everything from a record to a flash drive. The TV was large enough to take up the majority of the wall. Attached was no fewer than six different gaming systems as well as a Blu Ray player. She knew that Hope had streaming services, so she wondered if she even used half of this stuff.

The bed was a four poster of dark sturdy wood. Though, the mattress was very modern. It was so soft and made you want to sink into it and never leave.

All in all, it was the perfect blend of the old and the new that made up the core of who Hope was. So just like the girl herself, Josie loved the room and felt safe and at home.

“Your room is amazing.”

“Thanks. It took a long time to get everything. Some of these gaming systems aren’t even made anymore, and no one uses Blu Ray anymore. But they seem to be the gap time from our childhood. I have the old that is my family, the new that is us, and these few things that just blend them.”

The witch loved to see Hope feel so at ease. She could feel all the stress and worry from school just melt off of her as they entered.

Not being able to resist, Josie walked over and wrapped the tribrid in her arms. She wanted to hold her while she felt this relaxed. She laid her head on the girls shoulder and hugged her tightly.

“I love seeing you like this. Free and relaxed.”

“Yeah, well, this is the one place that I know that I can be myself and that no one will expect anything that I can’t give to them. Here, and in your arms are the only places that I am home.”

Lifting her head, the brunette stared into the blue eyes that she had fallen in love with. She leaned in for what was to be a chaste kiss.

Just as her lips touched Hope’s, Kol burst in with the bags.

Hope refused to let go of Josie just because her uncle walked in. So she wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and turned to face the vampire.

“You know, there is this old fashioned thing called knocking. You would think that with as old as you are you would have learned some manners.”

Kol laughed at his niece. He always loved it when she was home. With the exception of his wonderful wife, no one else’s wits and tongue were as sharp as to be able to keep up with him.

“Yes, and there is this other old fashion idea that says that you and your girlfriend sleep in separate rooms. Should we look into that?”

“Sure we could, oh but wait, all the rooms are mine since dad left me the compound so, I guess any room that she is in is mine, might as well be this one.”

The grin that spread on the man’s face let Hope know that he was proud of the quick return.

“Damn, I miss you so much when you are away.”

“You could always come visit. I’m pretty sure I could convince Alaric not to stake you. Or at least Josie may be able to.”

“I don’t know Hope, you know how dad feels about asses, or you should since you are the biggest at the school.”

Kola dn Hope both looked shocked at the younger girl. Their mouths hanging slightly opened, with shock. Just before Josie could panic, they started to laugh so hard that they doubled over.

“Oh I like this one Hope. You have to keep her and bring her around more often.”

“That is the plan. We are going to change real quick. See you down stairs in a few.”

With a nod, Kol left the two girls to get ready for dinner. The girls changed their clothes and washed their faces to freshen up a bit.

“Ready for this?”

“No, but let’s go anyway.”

Walking into the dining room, the girls saw that the food was already on the table and that everyone was sitting around waiting for them.

“Sorry, we wanted to freshen up and change. That was a long plane ride.”

“It was only a few hours! You are dramatic.”

“It’s my fault, I get motion sickness and traveling is hard for me.”

Hope pulled out Josie’s seat for her as they both sat down. Hope to Freya’s right and Josie to Davina’s left.

The conversations flowed easily and everyone was enjoying themselves. There were no dull moments with the Mikaelsons, especially when they all decided that they should share stories of Hope as a baby.

“Okay, I think you have embarrassed me enough for this life. You can do more in the next one.”

Taking a little pity on the tribrid, Davina changed the subject.

“So what do you plan on doing while you are in town girls?”

“I want to take Josie to the Bayou and to the Quarter. Bourbon street too. But I also want to do other touristy things. The Audubon Zoon and the Aquarium of the Americas. And my favorite place, the New Orleans Museum of Art. Plus, I promised fresh beignets, so we have to get those.”

“Oh, are you going to make them for her?”

Josie perked up at this suggestions.

“You can bake?”

Before Hope could answer for herself, everyone jumped in.

“Of course she can!”

“At least beignets.”

“The baker at Café du Monde taught her after Klaus compelled them.”

Josie looked at her girlfriend with an excited look on her face. She loved to learn new things about Hope, and she had a feeling that this week was going to be a gold mine of information.

“We have to make them ourselves. You can’t get fresher than homemade.”

The auburn-haired girl just shook her head. She knew that she would be making homemade beignets. There was nothing in this world that she would do for or give the beautiful girl next to her.

“Well, I guess that means a trip to the store is going to be in order so that I can get everything that we will need.”

“No need, we already have everything in the kitchen. You know that I wasn’t going to let you out of this house without making them. Nik would have cried for a month. He swears that only Hope’s will do.”

Everyone laughed at that and looked at the little boy who was trying his best to give a fearful glare.

“Hope’s are the best! She puts magic in them!”

Smirking, Hope winked at her cousin and waved him to come over to her. She leaned in and whispered something in his ear that got a huge smile.

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

The little boy jumped up and down and ran around the table a few times before sitting back in his seat with a huge grin still on his face.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing.”

Josie leaned over and whispered in Hope’s ear. The older girl zeroed in on the sensation and on the words themselves. She loved having Josie feel this comfortable with everyone around.

“I’ll tell you later.”

The blush that creeped up Josie’s cheeks was enough to start the teasing again. It was light and good hearted, though Hope did still get a little overprotective.

After dinner was over and everything was cleaned up, the girls were tired from the day and were ready to head to bed.

“We are going to turn in. We have a early day planned for tomorrow. Lots to do and lots to see.”

Everyone wished the girls a good night and told them that they would see them in the morning. As they climbed the stairs, hand in hand, Josie leaned her head onto Hope’s shoulder. Hope could feel that her girl was drained from the day and would be asleep shortly after getting into bed.

They went through their normal routine for bed. Hope got out all their sleep wear while Josie brushed her teeth and washed her face. Hope was changed when she came out and then they switched so that in a few short minutes, they were both dressed and ready for bed.

After crawling under the covers, the two gravitated towards each other and snuggled together ready for sleep.

“I had fun meeting all your family today. Not nearly as scary as I thought.”

“I told you that they would all love you. I mean, what’s not to love.”

Josie leaned in and gave Hope a sweet and soft kiss before pulling back and resting her head on her chest. Hope’s arms wrapped securely around her, holding her close. The feel of warmth and safety that they both got from this was something that they both craved.

“Goodnight baby.”

“Goodnight love.”

**T.B.C.**


	9. Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day in the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry that this took a bit of time, I have been sick this week. 
> 
> I had a plan for this chapter and half way through, I found that there was too much happening. So, I split the chapter in half. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is reading and leaving Kudos and comments!

The next day, the girls woke up early. Due not to planning on getting out early, but they had slept most of the day before, so their bodies and minds where ready to be awake.

Josie opened her eyes to the soft rays of the sun that were filtering in through the curtains. The first thing she saw was Hope staring at her with what appeared to be adoration shining in her eyes.

“Morning baby.”

“Morning love. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes. Your bed is so comfy and you being in it makes it even better.”

Hope wrapped her arm around Josie’s waist and pulled her in closer and nuzzled her nose into her neck, she started to leave little light kisses all up and down. She loved how Josie tilted her head to give her more access to her neck and the wonderfully soft warm skin found there.

After a few moment, when the brunette started to pant and a few soft moans had escaped, Hope reluctantly pulled back. Her eyes were almost black with how dilated they were. When she met Josie’s eyes, she saw wanting reflected back at her. She could read the girls intentions as well.

“We can’t, vampire hearing and you know that they are all listening in on us right now. I bet you they will be here in less than ten seconds.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Hope looked at her girlfriend and raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘See, I told you.’

Sitting up, Hope ran a hand through her hair and smiled at the girl in the bed next to her.

“Come in.”

Keelin walked in with her hand over her eyes. She had a large smile on her face, as if she were holding back a laugh.

“So, I was told to cover my eyes when I came in. Is it safe to look?”

Both girls chuckled at the antics of Hope’s family.

“Yes, Aunt Keelin, it is safe.”

The older woman lowered her hand and smiled over and the two girls who were still laughing at her. She shook her head at them.

“Alright you two, I just came in here to let you know that you need to be ready to go out at seven tonight.”

“Ready for what? To go where?”

“Hope, have you forgotten what tonight is?”

Hope thought for a moment and then jumped up from the bed with excitement.

“It’s the night before the Full Moon!”

Josie looked on in amusement as her normally subdued and mellow girlfriend, was now acting like a cute little puppy.

“What is tonight and why is she jumping around like that?”

“The first night of the Full Moon cycle. Werewolves only have to change on the full moon, and the Crescent Pack doesn’t have to even then. But every month, they do throw a huge three-day party. Hope hasn’t been home for one of those for a while now.”

“Mom loved these parties and we would go all the time when I was younger, when I was home.”

“Yes, and tonight we are going to party and have a good time. We will celebrate with the pack, just like she did.”

“I guess that I will hang out with Freya while you guys are off parting with the pack?”

The shorter girl stopped and turned around to look at her girlfriend. What was she talking about? Hanging out with Freya?

“No, you will be coming with us to the party.”

“Oh, I thought that since it was a pack party, that only pack would be allowed. Like at school.”

Keelin smiled at the girl. She really was too sweet. She was starting to understand just what it was about her, that made her niece love her so much.

“Well, with you and Hope, just like with me and Freya, you are with Hope. That makes you pack.”

“Yeah, and since Keelin is Alpha, what she says goes.”

Hope grinned in her aunts direction. She knew that she was poking a bit. Keelin hated to be reminded that she was Alpha. She never even wanted a pack, let alone to lead one.

The doctor looked over at her niece with a smirk on her face. Really, this is the game that she wanted to play. Well, in that case, she would enjoy a poke of her own.

“Well, I’m Alpha for now.”

Hope turned around and glared at her aunt.

“Not this again! We have had this discussion and my answer has not changed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hope is a true Alpha like her mother and father before her. She was next in line to be Alpha of the pack. When the Beta offered her the challenge, she took it and won. Then announced that she would not be taking over as Alpha right away, as she was just a teenager and was needed for other purposes. She made me Alpha in her place. In all honesty, the only thing that she has to do is show up and say that she is Alpha and that is that.”

“Which is something that you know that I am never going to do. I don’t want to be Alpha. The only reason that I took the challenge was that the Beta was a dick and the pack needs a level head in charge and someone who can control him.”

Keelin laughed. This girl didn’t know it yet, but one day she would be the Alpha and she would be as great as her mother.

“Alright, alright. Just make sure that you are ready to go by seven. If you are hungry, Freya had breakfast brought in for you. Come eat while there is some left.”

Keelin left the girls so that they could get ready for the day.

“Well, knowing that we are going to the party tonight makes me want to have a lazy day today. Are you okay with that?”

“Sounds fine to me. Anything specific that you want to do?”

“We could just hang out here in my room. We can watch something, or if you like, we can play some games.”

“I have never played any of these systems before. MG always tried to get me to play but I don’t really like the auto theft and first-person shooter and all that.”

“Oh! I know, we can play my favorite game. It’s an old PlayStation game.”

“What is it? What type of game?”

“It is a RPG. It has magic and creatures. Adventures and side quests. It is a lot of fun. I have played it a ton. You can finish it in as little as twenty hours or take hundreds of hours on it.”

“What is it? Sounds like it could be fun.”

“Final Fantasy 8.”

“I’m willing to give it a try. If I don’t like it, you aren’t going to like, break up with me, are you?”

Hope looked up with a smirk on her face, barely holding back a laugh.

“I don’t know. I mean this is my favorite game. What do you have to offer me in comparison?”

Josie walked up to the shorter girl and wrapped her hands around her shoulders. Hope automatically responded by wrapping her arms around her girl’s waist.

“Oh, I’m sure I can think of a thing or two.”

Leaning down to kiss her, Josie made sure that this more than a pressing of lips. She knew Hope had been playing with her, just teasing, but she wanted to kiss her anyway and this gave her the perfect excuse.

After a few moments, the brunette pulled back just enough to breathe. Both girls were panting from the kiss.

“Yeah, never breaking up with you. Not happening.”

“Good. I had a second idea in case you needed more too convince you not to break up with me .”

“Oh yeah, what was that.”

Josie tilted her head, bringing her lips over to Hope’s ear and whispered what she was thinking. The older girl turned red and her eyes popped out of their sockets.

Pulling back with one last sweet kiss, Josie released Hope and walked to the bathroom to get dressed. When she came out of the bathroom five minutes later, Hope still hadn’t moved.

“Baby, are you ok?”

Blinking, the older girl slowly turned to her devilish girlfriend. She was still blushing but at least her eyes had managed to become smaller.

“You can’t say stuff like that to me! You are lucky that you are still standing and that I’m not all over you right now.”

“I mean, is that really a good thing?”

Hope growled and took a few steps forward. She looked like she was stalking prey. Josie squealed and jumped over the bed and ran for the door. Hope of course, was faster and pinned her to the door. There was a fire in her eyes that was unmistakable.

Leaning in, Hope kissed Josie hard, putting everything into that kiss. She swiped her tongue across Josie’s lips and the girl willing opened for her. After a few more minutes of Hope claiming Josie’s mouth, she pulled back.

“Stay here. Don’t move. I’ll be right back. My wolf needs to calm down and I need to get ready for breakfast.”

Josie stood there catching her breath. She knew she was playing with fire while teasing Hope, and she got burned. Good thing she has an affinity for fire and loved the heat.

Hope returned to find Josie just as she left her still catching her breath and panting. She slowly walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug. She was calm now and had her wolf under control.

“I don’t know if you know this, but a wolf, even a Crescent with control, this close to the moon is all animal instincts. Tease me all you want, I actually enjoy it, a lot. Just not within three days of the full moon. I tend to, um, not have as tight a hold then.”

Josie nodded, still not having words, and hugged Hope tighter and kiss her cheek. She didn’t want to get her riled up again, but she needed to kiss her.

“Let’s go eat before they come looking for us, or before my wolf can change my mind.”

Pulling apart, Hope took Josie by the hand and walk out of the room and headed for the breakfast. Typically, mealtime was casual. The only time they really used the dining room was for large formal family dinners or to make an impression. Hope knew that she would find the family standing around in the kitchen.

“Morning you two. We were about ready to send a search party to see if you got lost.”

“Auntie Bex, it’s been fifteen minutes. We had to change out of our pjs and get ready. Have you forgotten what it is like to share a bathroom and take turns? Oh, that’s right, you never have, you always make sure you have your own bathroom.”

The group laughed at that as the blonde vampire playfully glared at her niece. It was nice having everyone home together. They may not be the most functional of families, but there was no lack of love.

“So, what is for breakfast? I’m starving and my wolf is worse.”

“I didn’t know what Josie would like and knew with the full moon tomorrow you and Keelin would be ravenous, so I order three of everything.”

In front of them was a full spread covering every surface. There was a lot of pastries and meats with some fruit and eggs and random other food mixed throughout. There were also some vegetarian and vegan options. Josie was grateful to Freya for ordering the different options, she had forgotten to mention that she didn’t eat meat.

“Thank you. I forgot to mention that I was a vegetarian. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Nonsense! You act like Hope did send me a specific list of what I was and was not allowed to offer you. I knew that you needed options without meat, I just wasn’t sure which of the options you would like best.”

Freya walked over and squeezed the girl’s shoulder. She didn’t like that fact that her default was to apologize. She would have to work on that with her. She was sure that Hope was already working on it, but an extra voice never hurt.

The girls grabbed their food and sat down at the bar with everyone else as they ate. It was a calm morning and it was perfect.

“What are you two love birds planning for the day?”

Kol turned to his niece and her girlfriend interested to see if he could get them to blush by the end of the meal.

“Aunt Keelin is taking us to the Full Moon party tonight so we are going to chill for the day. I have convinced Josie that she should play Final Fantasy 8 with me.”

Everyone started shaking their heads and groaning all at once. The groans around the room where almost deafening.

“What? I love that game.”

“We know. You have only played it so much that we had to buy you a new copy, twice!”

Davina was laughing next to Kol. In all honesty, it was her fault. She had bought her the first copy as a Christmas present when she was ten. She will never live it down either, but it made the young girl happy at the time, and still does. She still doesn’t regret it.

Josie looked around at the group and had a confused look on her face. She didn’t understand what the issue was.

“What’s the big deal? It’s just a game, right?”

“Oh, sweet summer child, you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. You are not leaving this house from vacation unless you finish that game. Davina and I had to cancel the first leg of our vacation three years ago because I let Hope talk me into to playing with her.”

“Why didn’t you just lose to her and end the game?”

“It isn’t that kind of game babe. It is an RPG. Only one player plays. But I like to hand off the remote and talk through everything. It is more fun that way. Group games tend to take on lives of their own.”

Josie nodded her head and stopped with a contemplative expression. She knew that Hope loved this game, and she was rarely at home. Apparently, everyone here was over playing it. Well, two birds one stone as they say.

“Well that’s easy enough. If we don’t finish the game, we can take it the console back to the school with us. Except, you will have to buy a TV though; you don’t have one.”

“Done! I will buy it today and have it delivered and set up for you in your room before you get back!”

Kol was already online ordering an 85-inch 4K TV with all the best features. He was serious about this. If he were going to buy it, he was going to make it the best one that would fit in a dorm room.

“I guess you guys really don’t want to play with me anymore.”

Hope looked down at her plate. She was happy that Josie still wanted to play but hurt a little that her family didn’t.

“It isn’t that we don’t want to play with you hon, it’s just that you have over five hundred games, and that is the only one you play. Pick any other game, I will come play with you and Josie now.”

Hope looked up and smiled at her aunt. She understood, it was just that game, it was special.

“No, that’s ok, I want to play with Josie. Maybe next time.”

Everyone looked at her and they felt a little bad. They hadn’t meant to hurt the girl’s feelings.

Josie could feel the mood drop in the room. She wanted to get Hope to her room.

“Hey, are you done? Want to go introduce me to this amazing game that I am sure to love?”

Hope smiled and nodded her head. Taking Josie’s hand in her own and lead her back to her room. Once they entered, the brunette pulled her girl in for a hug. She knew there was something that she wasn’t saying. She didn’t want to push, but she wanted her to know that she could tell her.

“Do you want to tell me why this one is your favorite and why it is more important than any other game?”

Hope shifted in the taller girl’s arms. She wasn’t sure exactly how to say this without it becoming a whole thing.

“Um, ok. But, can I set it up while I tell you? I really need the little distraction.”

“Of course, Hope. I’m just going to sit on the bed. You do the whole sexy tech support thing.”

Hope let out a soft laugh. She saw what Josie was doing and it made her love her even more. It was getting harder not telling her.

Hope went to work hooking up the right cables and cords and putting in the first of the four discs.

“Aunt Davina bought this for me when I was ten as a Christmas present. It was a bad year. Everyone was separated and we couldn’t be together anymore. They sent presents and we used Skype to talk and see each other, but I was alone a lot. Mom and Aunt Freya and Aunt Keelin tried their best, I know they did, but I was ten. I was hiding who I was at school and here I wasn’t allowed out with out one of the three. Aunt Keelin being a doctor worked long hours. Freya was dealing with the witches and keeping the peace along with mom. Mom was also working to keep the werewolves together and she had taken on all of the Alpha responsibilities. So, I spent a lot of time here, alone, and bored. I mean, there was always a bodyguard, though they called them babysitters.”

Josie was sitting there letting Hope take the time she needed to work through this. She didn’t want to interrupt her and cause her to stop speaking. She had questions and suspicions, but those could wait.

“When Christmas morning came and I received the gaming system and the game itself, I was excited. It was something to do to distract myself. Don’t get me wrong, I read a lot, and I loved painting, but those made me think of being alone and missing my family. This was different. I could get lost in it and kind of not think about anything outside of the game for a while.”

Hope had finished setting everything up and slipped her memory card into the slot and brought the controller over and offered it to Josie, who took it and waited for Hope to finish her story.

“That first night, mom helped me set everything up and then she offered to play with me. She said she had never played as a kid, but it sounded fun. We took turns playing and we got so lost in it, that by the time we could bring ourselves to stop playing, it was already the next morning. We spent the next week playing until we finally beat the game. Mom made arrangements for that whole week so that we wouldn’t have to leave the room. She ordered food and canceled all of her meetings. It was just us for a whole week.”

There it was the whole thing explained in one simple story. This was the game Hope first played with her mother. A game that caused her mother to take time to spend with her daughter who she was recognizing was lonely. This was the game that brought Hope time with her mother and reminded her of that time when she played.

Josie hugged Hope tightly. She held her like she was never going to let her go again, and in truth, in one way, she never would. She determined in that moment, she didn’t care if Hope wanted to play this game everyday for the rest of their lives, she would play whenever she wanted to. With a kiss to the side of the auburn-haired girl’s head, she pulled back and looked at her girl with a small smile.

“So, are you going to teach me how to play this, or am I figuring it out all by myself?”

Hope bounced up and down for a moment, making Josie think of ten-year-old Hope when she first played the game. This caused her smile to grow.

“Yes, let’s start! This really is the best game. You are going to love it. By this point I have it memorized, but there are so many ways to play that it is different each time.”

For the rest of the day the two girls traded off the controller playing the game, going for what Hope said was the long version. They took all the side quests and spent the time needed to gather all of the magic needed and to level the characters up before they needed to be.

When Keelin came to tell them, it was time to get ready to go, Josie was the one who groaned. She had really gotten into this game; it was just so much fun!

“Ok, we will be ready in a little bit. We just have to finish this one fight and then we can save.”

Keelin stood there and wait until the girls saved and turned everything off. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust them, but she had seen Hope say this before and then play another two hours getting lost in the game.

“Ok, I will see you girls downstairs in thirty minutes.”

After she left the girls stood up and got ready. As it was a cookout type party in the Bayou, there wasn’t much preparation needed. Some jeans and tank tops. They fixed their hair and brushed their teeth.

“Ready to go party with some wolves?”  
“As ready as I’ll ever be. Just please don’t leave me alone?”

Hope kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a side hug, hand resting on her hip.

“Trust me, you will not be leaving my side tonight. I want to make sure that every wolf there knows that you are mine.”

Josie laughed a little raising an eyebrow. She knew wolves were possessive, however that seemed extreme.

“Really? Possessive of me just a little?”

“Yes, but it is more than that. By making sure that I am claiming you to the pack, that offers a certain level of protection. A partner, or later, a mate, is something that no wolf will mess with, and if a witch or vamp does, the pack will stand with me and protect you. This isn’t a marriage, so please don’t freak out. This is, for now, me claiming that you are mine.”

“I understand Hope. We do go to a school full of supernaturals. I have seen the wolves do this before. I just like teasing you a bit. I like it when you smile.”

Smiling wide, just for her, Hope leaned in and gave a soft kiss. Little more than a peck.

“We should go, this is going to be an interesting night.”

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything you want to see happen?


	10. Wolves at the Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolf party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this update took a bit longer. I have been unfocused. But here it is, I hope you like it!

When the girls arrived at the Bayou, the party was already in full swing. There were wolves everywhere having fun. There was eating and drinking and dancing. A huge bonfire was blazing in the middle of the land.

“Looks like the whole pack is here for this one.”

“Yeah, all the pups are on break from school. So, they were all able to come tonight. This should be fun. Why don’t you go and mingle with everyone and introduce Josie around? I’ll see you two later.”

The girl smiled and waved and then walked over to where the teens where hanging out. When they say Hope walking over a group of girls jumped up and rushed over to greet the auburn-haired wolf.

“Hope! Your back!”

“When did you get in?”

“Who is this?”

“Hi girls. I am back. Got in yesterday. This is my girlfriend Josie.”

“Girlfriend? Really? Since when do you date girls Red?”

Hope’s face fell into a hard line the moment that she heard the voice approaching. Turning slowly, she schooled her expression to one of slight annoyance.

“Yeah-son, you’re here. I was hoping that you had drowned by now.” 

“You know I hate it when you say my name like that! It should be the French, JAY-sən. Why is that so hard for you?”

“Why is it hard for you to remember that I hate it when you call me Red?”

“But you are so hot and fiery like your red hair. The name fits.”

“Go away Jason. I don’t have time for you and your bullshit. I have told you before not to talk to me. I will not tell you again.”

“That isn’t what you said last time we saw each other now was it baby? You were happy when I was hanging around last year. We were together all night.”

Before Hope could respond, she felt Josie tense beside her. When the older girl looked over, to the taller girl, she saw that her girlfriend was muttering something as she waved her hand. It took her a moment to understand what was happening, but once she did, she wanted to laugh. Smirking, Hope took her eyes from Josie for a moment and looked down at Jason’s arm.

“You know what else is fiery about me? My girlfriend.”

Hope nodded to the wolf’s arm and started laughing. All the girls turned to see that his arm from wrist to elbow was ablaze.

Jason screamed and kept trying to put the fire out. Patting it and screaming, he was running around like crazy. The fire wouldn’t go out no matter what he did, so finally, he jumped into the lake.

Waiting to make sure that no one was listening, Hope leaned over to whisper into Josie’s ear.

“Babe, did your first move have to be to set him on fire? Don’t get me wrong, I loved it, but still.”

Josie looked her dead in the eyes and the fire that she saw there instantly had Hope wanting to drag her into the woods. ‘Damn my girl is as hot as the fire she loves.’

“Yes, when I could feel the asshat vibes coming off him in waves, and when he is making insinuations about my girlfriend, then yes, my first move was fire. If he comes back, my second move will be worse.”

Hope laughed and grabbed Josie’s hand dragging her over to hang out with the girls around the table where they were eating.

The two were enjoying the day parting with Hope’s pack. They had played a few games, danced a bit, and had lunch with the three girls that had run up to Hope when she arrived.

Josie learned that they were triplets, which is rare for wolves who typically are only children, who Hope had saved a few years ago, saving them from triggering their curses. The girls didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and Hope wouldn’t say more than it wasn’t their fault. Ever since then, whenever Hope is at home, the girls follow her around like Hope is their messiah. It really was adorable.

It was getting later in the day and the sun was going to set soon. Hope said that was when the party really got started.

“Hey, do you want to take a walk by the lake with me and watch the sun set? It is really beautiful.”

“Yeah. I’d love that.”

Hope smiled and told the girls that they would be back after sunset and asked that if Keelin came looking for them that they tell her. With promises that they would, they stood and headed toward the lake.

Hope took Josie’s hand in her own and tugged her close to her side. Josie smiled and tilted her head on to Hope’s shoulder. It was a bit awkward with the height difference, however, Hope had taken to wearing tall boots that added a few inches. Josie seemed to have grown fond of flats so that she could not be any taller that she already was.

Hope led Josie into the woods that surrounded the lake. It was beautiful out her. The trees were tall and green and gave off a perfect smell. The lake shone with the last rays of the setting sun. It was truly a magical place and there was no one that Hope wanted to share this with other than Josie.

The moment was perfect. They were there together and alone. Hope Turned her head, looking at the girl that she so loved. This was her moment. She was going to tell Josie exactly how she felt.

“Josie, I…”

The moment was interrupted when a crashing could be heard from behind them. Hope turned towards the noise, instantly on the defensive.

“Look what we have here boys. It’s Red and her witch bitch.”

Jason and a group of teen boys where crashing over towards the girls. Jason had posed him self to lead and had that cocky grin that made Hope’s skin crawl.

Before Josie could blink and register the words that were spoken, Hope was already pinning the boy against a tree. His feet were not touching the ground. She was squeezing slightly on his throat so that he understood that she was seriously pissed in this moment.

“If you boys don’t want to end up on your asses you will stop moving forward. Don’t think for a second that I can’t take all four of you while never losing my grip on this waste of space.”

The four other wolves just stood there looking at the older girl and waiting to see what her next move was going to be. To be honest, Hope was wondering that herself. Personally, she would love to rip his throat out and call it a day. He was just like his father, a total ass!

Josie slowly walked over to Hope and placed a hand on top of her arm that wasn’t holding up the teen. She slipped her hand up to her cheek and turned her face to meet eyes with one another.

“Baby, he isn’t worth it. Let him go and let’s go back to the party.”

Hope smiled softly at her girlfriend. She would do anything for her. Even letting this prick walk away with all his limbs attached.

“Leave now Jason. Don’t bother us again.”

“Make me!”

Every single person in that circle of woods froze at the words. Save for Josie, each of them knew what the teen wolf had just done. If Hope choose to, this could be the end of him. This was an opportunity that a year ago, she would have jumped on.

“Because you are apparently stupid enough to have said that, I am going to give you a chance. No one but us here heard you. We can all walk away and pretend that you didn’t say anything.”

Jason looked scared. He was in a shit position in this moment. However, he couldn’t back down. Even if no one else was there, he refused to be seen as weak.

“You heard me. If you want me gone, make me leave.”

Hope shook her head and dropped the boy hard to the ground.

“Challenge accepted. Meet me in the circle in ten minutes. I will get the Alpha and pack gathered.”

Hope took Josie by the hand and led her out of the trees. This was going to end badly no matter the outcome. Since she was the Alpha, having won the challenge, if she lost, Jason would be Alpha and that would be the end of the pack.

If she won, she would have to kill that boy, who while he was an idiot, didn’t deserve to die. Her brain was spinning. She needed to think of a way out of this.

“Hope, what just happened? What challenge? What is going on?”

Hope stopped and pulled Josie in for a hug. She needed to feel her close. To feel grounded with her safely tucked into her arms.

“Jason just challenged my strength. By him telling me to make him do something, he questioned my place in the pack. Since I am the Alpha, as I won the challenge for leadership against the Beta, who happens to be Jason’s father, That means he questioned my right to lead. If it had been anything else, he could walk away.”

“What do you mean? Why wouldn’t he walk away? You said you fought the current Beta and he walked away.”

“That was a challenge to prove that I could step into the role that was mine from birth. That challenge I needed to show strength and win. I wasn’t required to kill for that. Just to get the other wolf to submit.”

“And this is different?”

“Yes, as I have already gotten the submission from everyone, this is a challenge to my strength as a leader. Basically, calling me weak and unfit. If I lose, I die. If he loses, he dies. I tried to give him a way out. However, since he wouldn’t take it, I have been forced to accept, or I lose Alpha anyway, and that leaves the pack open to attack.”

Josie pulled backed and looked at Hope. She could see that she didn’t want to do this. There had to be another way that they could both keep their lives. There had to be a loophole somewhere.

As they returned to where the bon fire was, Hope stood on a table and gathered everyone’s attention to her. Once she was sure that everyone was paying attention she started.

“Challenge has been given. We fight in the circle. It is a challenge given to the Alpha of your pack. You all know what this means.”

A big man strode forward. Pushing people left and right out of his way.

“Who would be stupid enough to challenge our Alpha when you bested me?”

“Your son. I offered to allow him to take it back, he refused. I will not offer again. Make the circle.”

The whole pack started to make a circle around the clearing. Keelin came over and stood next to Josie marking the head of the circle as she was acting Alpha.

“Isn’t there anything that we can do to stop this?”

“Challenge was made and accepted. There is nothing to be done for it now.”

Hope stood in the middle of the circle waiting for her opponent to arrive. She was still trying to think of a way out of killing the boy. Why did he have to be so stupid?

Suddenly the circle opened, and Jason stepped inside. He was already shirtless and shoeless. Standing there in only a pair of cut off jeans. He had a cocky smirk on his face, but the sweat was easy enough to spot while looking at him. At least he was smart enough to be scared.

Keelin walked to the middle of the circle, between the two teenagers. She looked first to Jason, shaking her head at how anyone could be this foolish.

She then turned to Hope. She knew that her niece didn’t want to do this. She needed a way out of having to kill him. There had to be something. Suddenly, a thought came to her.

“Pack, who is your Alpha?”

As one the Pack answered.

“You are Alpha.”

“That is right. I am Alpha here. Even Hope listens to me as Alpha. As such this is not an Alpha fight. It is a pecking order fight and nothing more.”

A few groans were heard through the pack. Others were voicing their congratulations on the loophole. No matter what the pack might think, the truth was, until Hope claimed it, she was not the true Alpha to the pack.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Oh yeah, she was too busy worrying about killing this boy.

“This is a fight to submission. It will not end until one party submits to the other. We fight as the wolves that we are. Change and let the challenge begin.”

Keelin left the ring walking back to where the young witch waited for her. She saw the questions in her eyes and held up a hand. She needed to let the fight start first.

Within seconds, both teens had shifted and were ready to start fighting. Hope was beautiful. A large white wolf that stood tall and exuded power. She was magnificent and Josie wanted to reach out to touch her. Though, she figured that would not be something that she should do in this moment.

Jason was a mousy brown wolf. She stood a head shorter than Hope. In truth, Josie thought looked more like a large dog than the small wolf her was.

Keelin looked at both fighters and then nodded. With the signal given, the fight started. Hope took the lead and seemed to have ideas about getting this fight over quickly. She lunged straight for the teen wolf’s neck and started pressing down.

“This shouldn’t take long. Hope is stronger than any wolf that I have ever seen. Everyone here knows that Hope could end this in a moment. The only reason that she will allow it to go any length of time is to allow Jason to not be abandoned by the pack. This pack is all about strength. One of the rules is that if a wolf can be put into submission with in the first minutes of the fight, they are too weak to be in the pack. He must stay in the fight for five minutes. You shall see at the five minute and one second mark, Hope will put him down and this will be over. She isn’t going to allow the insult, but she also will not him out of this without making sure that he understands not to do this again.”

Josie looked relieved and smiled to the older woman. She was glad that she had been there in the moment. She wasn’t sure what Hope would have done if this was made to complete a fight to the death. Yes, she had activated her curse, however that had been an accident. The tribrid would never willing take a life. However, she was always up for a fight to defend and protect.

Josie turned back and saw that the white wolf seemed to be toying with the smaller brown wolf. She would dart in and bite his ear or ram his side to knock him over. Everyone it seemed could tell that she wasn’t really trying to fight. She wasn’t putting any effort into it at all. The crowd laughed each time Hope made a blatantly obvious move to toy with the smaller wolf.

The brown wolf, however, was trying to attack the white wolf with everything he had. He lunged and jumped, trying desperately to get an advantage. He growled baring his teeth, just for the white wolf to smirk. Now you wouldn’t think that a wolf could smirk but leave it to Hope to be able to pull it off.

True to her word, as soon as the five minutes were over, Hope pounced on the Jason and pinned him to the ground with him not being able to move. She had her teeth around his neck and started to squeeze.

“Does this mean that it is over?”

“First he has to submit.”

“How does he do that?”

“There are two options. The better option is for him to place his head on the ground as a wolf. This means that he acknowledges that she is the stronger wolf, and everything is over.”

Josie thought about that for a moment. That didn’t seem so bad, however, Keelin had said that would be the better way, which meant that it was not the only way.

“How else can he submit?”

Keelin looked at the girl from the side of her eye. A small smile spread across her face, something that told Josie that this is what to expect the outcome to be.

“If he lowers his head, Hope has the option to not accept that as enough. If she doesn’t, she will bite him hard enough on the neck to cause the natural reaction of shifting back into a human. If he stays a wolf, then it is still over, however, if he shifts back, he will be cased to the lowest pack standing, and he will have to fight his way back up. I have a feeling that Hope will do this. She has a bad history with the boy.”

“I noticed that. He is an ass.”

“He took advantage of her when she was grieving. He convinced her to wolf out and run the woods. Drinking and staying out late the night before the fight with his father. Trying to make it to where his father would become the next Alpha. Hope came home a complete mess the next morning and had no sleep. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for Freya having the best hangover cure and Hope’s vampire side allowing her to recover quickly, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Josie knew that Hope was going to make the boy change. She didn’t forgive easily, and this was the only thing it seemed that she could do to the boy in wolf culture to truly make him suffer.

While Josie was talking to Keelin, she heard a scream and turned just in time to see Jason shift into a human. As soon as Jason shifted, Hope released him and tilted her head back in a howl.

Wolf Hope trotted over to Josie, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth, smiling. She was adorable. Running her had through the white coat, Josie leaned in to kiss the top of her snout.

“Go change back and put clothes on. Come dance with me.”

With a bark, Hope ran off to go change. Within a few minutes, Hope was back, dressed, and ready to spend the rest of the party dancing with her girl.

As the two swayed to the rhythm of the music, stealing kisses and sharing longing looks, the rest of the party seemed to fade away into the background. It was just the two of them in the universe.

“You want to get out of her?”

“Yes.”

Hope wrapped Josie into her arms and they started to walk away from the dancing. Stopping briefly to tell Keelin that they were going to walk the city a while and would meet her at home.

As soon at they were far enough away, Josie pinned Hope to a tree and kissed her harder and deeper than she had ever done before. It seemed that she was trying to claim the tribrids mouth. Her tongue slipping in easily as Hope wasn’t going to even attempt to stop her.

Hands began to roam up backs and into hair. Slipping under the tank top that Hope wore, Josie scratched a trail on her stomach. Causing Hope to pull her closer and bite her bottom lip.

“Baby, as much as I’m enjoying this, and believe me I am, we need to stop before I won’t be able to.”

Panting, Josie pulled back and rested her hand on the shorter girls shoulder.

“I know. It just that watching you like that in the fight, and then dancing with you. I have to say Hope, you know how to turn a girl on.”  
The blush that covered the tribrids face was almost as red as her hair.

“We need to go for a walk. I’ll um… show you my city at night.”

Josie smiled and took Hope’s hand in her own and tugged a little.

“I’d love that.”

The two set off into the night exploring. This was the perfect end to the day. They were together and that is all that really mattered.

**T.B.C.**


	11. Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of the New Orlean Trip. Family time. Things learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who is reading this and commenting. You motivate me more than anything to keep going. 
> 
> I know that it has been longer between post this time, but I have started gearing up as my graduate program starts next week and I am juggling a bit more right now trying to prepare.
> 
> I will finish this story, I promise. I have plotted out everything at this point and it is just a matter of writing it out.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy the chapter and that it was worth the wait.

The rest of the time that the girls spent in New Orleans was amazing. There was something different each day as Hope made sure of that. She didn’t want them to get bored or for Josie to think that New Orleans didn’t have a lot to offer. She wanted Josie to get the feel for the real city and not just the tourist attractions.

Since a lot of these places required a car ride, Freya had mixed Josie up a cure for her motion sickness. It was amazing, Josie was able to ride in the car for hours without getting sick. One dose about ten minutes before traveling and it would last for twelve hours. Since it worked so well, Freya promised to write the formula down for her.

They spent the entire third day wondering around the Art Museum. Hope showed Josie all of her favorite pieces and explained to her why they were her favorites. She showed her which ones her mother had liked. She even pointed out which of her father’s paintings where on loan there. Hope got lost in the art and in her memories. When tears came to her eyes, Josie slipped her hand down the shorter girls arm, twining their fingers together. Letting her know that she was there and that she would hold her through her emotional storm.

“I’ve got you baby. I’m here.”

They spent another hour just walking around, admiring the art. Josie held Hope the whole time, never once letting her go.

After that, Hope took Josie out to dinner, and they wondered the streets enjoying the music and the festivities. Getting swept away in one of the parades that was marching down the street.

On the fourth day, Hope took Josie to the Aquarium and the Zoo. Josie loved animals and was like a kid in a candy store running around from one exhibit to the next.

“I love seeing all of the animals, but it makes me sad that they are caged and aren’t able to roam free.”

“I know baby, but most of the animals were injured when they were brought in. They wouldn’t survive in the wild. Their babies are breed in captivity. I do think that all Zoos should have programs to release the babies into the wild though.”

After walking all day, the two were tired and just wanted to relax. They picked up some food on the way back to the compound and went to Hope’s room and played some more on Final Fantasy 8. Josie had quickly become addicted to the game and was spending just as much time as Hope with the controller in her hand.

The girls only had two more days in New Orleans, and while everyone was sad, they had amazing memories from this visit. Josie would absolutely like to come back someday. There was so much to this town. She didn’t think that she would truly be able to see everything in a whole lifetime.

Today’s active, was the promised homemade beignets. Josie had been waiting for this the entire trip. She wanted to see Hope in and apron. This was sure to be her favorite part of the whole vacation. If only just because she got to see her girl being all domestic.

“Ok, so Auntie Bex said that her and Freya made sure that I had everything that I needed to make the beignets. We are ready to start the baking, but first, you should put this on.”

Hope handed her an apron of her own. It was bright yellow and had a Kola Bear on the front, with the words, ‘Hug the Cook’ written in black.

“Hope! This is so cute!”

“Yeah, I saw it at the Zoo gift shop and couldn’t resist. It made me think of you. You are my own personal Kola.”

As if to prove her point, Josie ran over and jumped into her girl’s arms wrapping her arms and legs around her holding her close. She leaned in and gave her what was supposed to be a chaste kiss.

As the girls were increasingly learning this week, chaste isn’t something that lasted long when the two were alone. In fact, every member of the Mikaelson family has walked in on the two making out at least once.

The first and so far, only time that Kol walked in on them, he screamed like a girl. Davina came running, hands raised and a spell on her lips, thinking that he was being attacked. After assuring her that there was not an attack, Hope told her Aunt what happened. The older witch laughed so hard that she fell to the ground.

According to Kol, “There are just something that one should never see of their innocent sweet niece and her equally innocent and sweet girlfriend.

“I think I may finally need that therapy you all kept badgering me about.”

It had been five days and she was still picking on her husband. Since then, he made sure to announce his presence before entering any room that they might be in. He waited to see if there was any noise or if someone told him it was safe to enter.

So, it was no surprise, that as Davina and Keelin entered the kitchen, and found the two pressed against a counter, in yet another heated make out session. They waited a moment to see if the girls would acknowledge that they were in the room. They didn’t.

“Do you remember being that young D?”

“Yeah, I have to say, I miss it some days. Though, having my own house so that I don’t traumatize helpless uncles is nice.”

Hope, hearing her aunts, pulled back but didn’t release Josie from her hold. Turning to glare at the two intruders for yet another interruption.

“Well, technically, this is my house. My name is on the deed. I also own three others in the city limits and two just outside the city. Not to mention the about thousand other houses, compounds, castles, and random others that dad, mom, and Uncle Elijah left me. So, if anything, you are in my house so hush.”

“Look at all that sass!”

Hope turned to her aunts and stuck her tongue out.

Josie laughed at the three. Of all of Hope’s aunts, Keelin and Davina were the two that brought out the ‘fun’ in Hope the most. Josie thought it was because they were the ones that had similar childhoods. Davina being only sixteen when Hope was born. She was a powerful witch that others thought that they could control. They wanted to make her submit to their wills. She had proved them all wrong and taught them that she would submit to no one. However, in doing so, she lost a lot of her own childhood.

Keelin spent so much time running and hiding from what she really was. She knew what it was to be ashamed of what was in you, of who you were. She knew what it was like to hide and to keep a secret from everyone. To keep everyone at arm’s length to protect not only herself, but those around her. It took finding love to help her stop running.

Both of these amazing women wanted Hope safe and were always there to protect her, however, they also wanted to let her be the teenager that she was. To allow her to be who she was.

“Alright you three, don’t make me call Freya in here to referee.”

“Ah Hope, your girlfriend is no fun!”

“I disagree. I happen to think that she is a lot of fun.”

“Hey that is my wife you are talking about. She will definitely take my side.”

Just then, Keelin felt a set of arms wrap around her waist and pull her in close for a hug.

“Sorry hon, but whatever it is, with it being you three, I am agreeing with Josie.”

“Traitor!”

Josie laughed so hard that she lost her grip on Hope and would have fallen, if the tribrid hadn’t had such a tight grip on her. Slowly lowering the witch to the ground, Hope gave her one last kiss on the cheek before putting on her own plain black apron.

“Hey, why don’t you have a cute ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron?”

Rebekah came in the room laughing at the question. This was something that had been pointed out to the teen before. That there were more fun aprons that she could wear.

“Real chefs where black. It doesn’t stain.”

“Then how come I don’t get a black one?”

“One, because we have seen you in a kitchen Jo. You burnt water.”

“That was not my fault! You distracted me!”

Kol walked into the kitchen just then and covered his ears quickly.

“Please, for the love of your Uncle, please don’t say more about that!”

All the women laughed at him, but they understood. No one needed to hear about their niece’s love life in greater details. They liked to tease the two, but there were lines that shouldn’t be crossed and information that didn’t need to be known.

“On that note, the second reason is that you are adorable, and I knew that you would like that apron better than a plain black one. You are going to be my little helper and that apron is enough to keep the flour off your clothes. Since we all know that no one else is going to help until it is time to eat.”

“Hey, in fairness, Freya and I did buy the ingredients.”

“And by that she means that they called the store and told them what they wanted to make and had everything delivered.”

Four women all at once turned to smack Kol for his comment.

“Just for that you are on clean up.”

Kol looked at his wife like she had betrayed him.

“Well, it appears that everyone is going to turn on each other today. If that is the case, I declare it game night. Once Hope is done with the beignets, we are going old school board game night.”

There were choruses of agreement heard throughout.

“Fine, but only if Josie is on my team.”

“Nope, couples on opposite sides.”

“Then I’m out.”

“Aww, but honey, I want to play.”

“I know baby, but they are vicious and mean. I refuse to play against you.”

“They are too freaking cute. Fine, you two can be a team. I refuse to split up that level of sweetness. No matter how many cavities I get from them.”

Hope just smirked, knowing that she would get her way. There was no possible way that she was going to let Josie go up against any of her family without her for protection. The Mikaelson Clan was not known for taking it easy. Not even on each other and not even for board games.

“The last time that we played board games, Uncle Kol barely made it out without a stake in his chest.”

Josie looked shocked at that. She knew that the Mikaelsons had a reputation for violence, but they had been sweet and inclusive this whole vacation. Sure, they poked, but she figured that was a family trait.

“In my defense, he was cheating.”

“Yeah, so were you Rebekah. We all were. It’s kind of how we play.”

“Yes, but you are supposed to be discreate about it. He literally reached up his sleeve because he lost the card in there.”

Hope just shook her head and her family and raised an eyebrow at Josie as if to say ‘See, this is exactly why you are on my team.’

“Ok, if you aren’t cooking or helping, get out of the kitchen.”

Everyone but Josie got up and left. They all knew how Hope was in the kitchen. No one wanted to be near her when she was cooking.

“Well they cleared out quickly. What have I signed up for here?”

Hope smiled and kissed Josie on the cheek and moved herself over to her workstation.

“Ok, so we are going to do this the easy way. I will do the cooking; you can hand me things. Are you ok with that?”

With no other warning than the smirk on her face, Josie lifts the bag of flour and dumps it on to Hope’s head.

Hope stood there, sputtering flour out of her mouth as the brunette laughed so hard that she almost fell over. The shorter girl was covered head to toe in flour to the point that she looked like she was a ghost.

“Think that is funny, do you?”

“Absolutely! Because it is!”

Hope ran over and picked Josie up spinning her around and hugging her close shaking the flour from herself until it also covered Josie. The two just laughed until Josie leaned in to whisper in Hope’s ear.

“I may not be able to cook, but I can bake.”

“Oh, I know, you made me those cookies before. Those ones after you almost set my pants on fire when I surprised you.”

“Well, you know, I can light a fire in your pants, no magic required.”

Hope gulped and nearly tackled Josie to the ground in that moment. The only thing that saved, or punished, depending on how you look at it, was that Keelin came to see what the noise was.

“What are you two doing in here?”

Turning to look at her aunt, Hope waved her hand and with a silently muttered spell, the flour was cleaned up and everything set to right.

“Nothing, small mishap with the flour that’s all.”

The older woman just shook her head and left without saying anything. Because really, what were you going to say to two goofy in love teenagers?

“Ok, we really should get baking. After that, someone will come in “needing” something every ten minutes or so to make sure that we are behaving ourselves.”

“That’s no fair. How am I supposed to do anything but help you bake in ten minutes?”

Hope slid her hand up Josie’s side, resting it just below her where she would start to skim her breast, and leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“There are a lot of things that I can start in ten minutes.”

“Yes, start, but not finish.”

“True, so maybe we should just bake.”

“Yes. Bake now, other things later.”

The two worked seamlessly together as if it was choreographed. It was as if they were two people sharing one mind, they were so in sync with one another. They seemed to always know exactly where the other was and what was needed in that moment.

When they were finished and the beignets were made and ready to eat, they finally looked up to see that they had gathered and audience. It appeared that everyone had at some point come back into the kitchen and had been watching them.

“What are you all looking at?”

“I have never seen two people who are able to do what you just did. I mean, I know people that have been married for years who have to talk more than that and don’t move half as in sync.”

The girls just looked at each other and shrugged. This was nothing new for them. They have been doing this for as long as they could remember. Sometimes they would just sync up and be able to move as one.

“Well, everything is ready. Everyone come, eat beignets and then we can go play.”

Hope didn’t want to talk about it, and she knew that Josie would get shy if they pressed the point. This was just something that they did. In her mind, there was no reason to make a big deal of it.

Everyone gathered around and started to eat the pastries the girls had made. There were moans of appreciation heard around the room.

“Hope, you have out done yourself. These are the best beignets you have ever made.”

“It’s all because of Josie. I finally had the help of someone who, while she can’t cook, she can bake.”

Josie glared at her girlfriend.

“Do you want to look like Casper again?”

“No dear.”

Everyone laughed at the girls and how they were so playful together.

Soon the pastries were done, and the group moved to the living room to start their game night. Freya had pulled out every game that was in the compound.

“So, we have Clue, Monopoly, Life, and some random card games. What do we want to play?”

“Not Monopoly!”

There were cries heard around the room both agreeing and arguing. Everyone had an opinion about it. None so loud as Hope herself who had voiced the objection. She hated that game with a passion. That was not a game that her family had ever been able to play without actual bloodshed.

Josie leaned over in Hope’s ear from where she was sat on her lap. She was trying to speak as softly as she could. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself.

“Why can’t we play? I know that it’s a competitive game, but Lizzie and I love it.”

“See Hope! Even Josie wants to play!”

Hope was mulling over her options at this point. If Josie wanted to play, she wanted to give in. She never could deny Josie anything. However, she knew her family. They were ruthless and she wasn’t joking when she thought back on all the bloodshed this game had caused.

“Fine, but there will be rules this time.”

All the adults in the room looked at her and waited to hear what she had to say. Hope knew that her family never really meant anything by the vicious acts during the game, and they would shake it all off the next day, but she didn’t want them to traumatize Josie.

“Ok, Rule one, any cheating, you lose your highest value property to the person you cheated or if you cheated everyone, you go to jail for three turns. Rule two, if you shed blood and you are kicked out of the game completely.”

Everyone agreed to the rules and the game was set up and everyone paired off into their teams to prepare to play. Josie was excited because no one had taken the little Scottie dog piece and apparently it was her favorite.

“What, he is so cute! I would pick the wolf if they had it, but they don’t.”

Hope smiled and muttered a spell that Josie couldn’t hear, and the Scottie turned into a wolf that looked a lot like Hope in wolf form.

Josie squealed and bounced up and down in Hope’s lap and then threw her arms around her neck and kissed her soundly.

“Thank you, baby, she is so cute!”

“What happened to no cheating?”

“Changing the piece isn’t cheating. It’s superficial not going to change the outcome of the game.”

Each team rolls one of the dice so that they could determine the order of play. Josie managed to role a six which means that her and Hope went first. They decided that Josie would roll the dice first since she was the was the one that rolled the winning number.

Everything was going fine for a while. It seemed that everyone was following both the rules of the game, and the rules that Hope had given. It was nice playing a game when no one was cheating or trying to stake another member. It lasted for all of an hour.

Surprisingly, the first one out was Davina. It was their turn and they needed to roll anything but another double. One more and they would go to jail. Kol had been rolling the doubles so Davina said that he should let her roll. He refused saying that it wouldn’t really make a difference. He of course, rolled doubles and that sent them to jail which lost them the chance to finally get the last property they needed to secure their monopoly on the corner of the board surrounding Go.

“I told you to let me roll!”

Davina then turned to her husband and stabbed him in the leg with a pencil. Kol looked at her like she had lost her mind. He pulled the pencil out and waved it at her.

“That’s it. Kol and Davina are out.”

“What? Why?”

“Davina stabbed you. Rules say that you are out of the game.”

“But we are partners, that shouldn’t count.”

“Never said it had to be the opposite teams. You’re out. All their property is cleared and goes back to the bank. It is now up for purchase.”

Kol smirked at his wife. As much as he hated to lose, he loved the fact that it was her fault this time. Davina gave him a look that could have melted him where he stood, and he was smart enough to look worried and to shut up.

Rebekah was the next out as she tried to throw the dice and distract everyone from her slipping extra houses onto her properties. Unfortunately for her, Hope counted every round.

“And Bex is out. If you are going to try to be sneaky, you should, your know, be sneaky.”

“You are a little brat you know that?”

“Love you too!”

The game was now Freya and Keelin vs Hope and Josie. Thanks to the fact that Josie was an amazing strategist, the girls were at an advantage. While everyone else was trying to buy the higher properties and putting hotels on them, Josie and Hope purchased two whole sides of the board and now had all the rail roads and the utility companies.

Keelin saw what they were doing and took her chance to purchase any properties that weren’t already owned by the girls to stop them from sweeping the board. Sadly, it was too little to late.

It was Josie’s turn to roll and if she rolled a six, they would land on free parking and there would be no stopping them. If they rolled a seven or higher, they would run the risk of landing on the hotel lined properties waiting for them.

As was the rule for the witches, Josie was not allowed to bring the dice near her lips and her head had to be facing another witch, so that they could verify that no spells were being cast. Shaking the dice and looking directly at Freya, Josie released them to roll.

“Yes! A six! Free parking! You are amazing baby!”

“How does she always do that? I watch her each time and she doesn’t do any spells, yet she always gets the number that she wants.”

“There has to be a trick to it. There is no one that lucky.”

“Oh, I’m not lucky, I’m fortunate, and it isn’t a spell. Well at least not one of mine.”

“Is Hope casting it? After all that talk of not cheating!”

“It isn’t me.”

“Then how is it possible that you get the number that you want each time that you roll?”

“Oh, that is easy, Kol swapped out the dice three rounds in. These dice bring fortune to their owner.”

“But I own them.”

“Yes, you do, however, when you were out of money and sold me your roll, they considered that you sold them to me.”

“So, you have been cheating this whole time?”

“No, Kol cheated. I just took advantage of information and built it into my strategy.”

All eyes in the room turned to the brunette. Every face had varying degrees of awe etched on them. From Kol who looked like he was proud that she found a loophole, to Freya who looked like she was impressed with the fact that she could argue logically out of being called a cheater.

From behind her, Hope pulled her in close and hugged her tightly. She was so amazed by how smart her girl was.

“My girl is so smart!”

“Game over. We forfeit. There is no winning against that and technically Josie is right. She didn’t cheat, Kol did, so game over.”

“Let’s have ice cream sundaes. The winners deserve a treat.”

The group all agreed. Ice cream sounded like a good way to end the day.

As Rebekah walked by the girls she stopped and looked at them curled together on the chair. Hope hugging Josie from behind and Josie smiling at the fact that she had won the game.

“You, my dear, are a sneaky little thing. Welcome to the family. You make the perfect mate for our littlest wolf here.”

Both girls sputtered in response not knowing exactly what to say. Bex laughed and walked away as the two sat there, beet red not being able to for words.

Once they were alone, Josie turned her face to meet Hope’s. Their eyes connected and locked. The universe was held in their gaze. Nothing and no one else mattered in that moment. They were both thinking the same thing. This was their forever and epic love. This was the love that people fought wars for and search lifetime after lifetime to find.

Hope opened her mouth to say the words that she had been trying to tell her girl for months now.

“Are you two coming? Your ice cream is going to melt.”

Leaning in, the brunette gave the older girl a kiss to the cheek before whispering next to her ear.

“We should go get that ice cream. Apparently, it will melt if we don’t.”

“Don’t care. You’re better than ice cream. You are better than everything in this world.”

Josie’s face broke into a mega watt smile and she crashed her lips into Hope’s. This kiss was different than the ones before it. While it was loving, and had heat to it, there was something else. It spoke the words that the girls couldn’t say to each other yet.

“You’re better that anything in the world Hope.”

As the girls were lost in each other, the rest of the family was gathered watching them from the doorway. Slipping back into the kitchen, all with matching smiles, they shared a silent conversation.

Their girl had finally found happiness. After everything horrible in her life, Hope now had someone to make her smile. Someone that could be there for her and that Hope would allow herself to open for. That is all they ever wanted for their girl.

Come Heaven or Hell, they would do everything to protect this love and both of these girls.

**T.B.C.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here, there are going to be about 5-6 more chapters until the end. I am hammering out a few details, deciding if they need their own chapter or not.
> 
> Let me know what you think and if there is anything that you want to see.


	12. Wonderwall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope's 18th Birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say that I am sorry that this chapter took so long. I started grad school on Monday and I have a lot of work to do for this. So sadly, I am not going to be able to update as often.
> 
> I do promise that I am going to finish this!! There are 5 chapters after this one and I have plotted them out, I just have to find the time to write them.
> 
> I want to thank everyone who is hanging in there with me and still reading. I want to give a special shout out to those of you sending me comments, you are helping to keep me extra motivated!!

** 16 Years Old/18 Years Old **

** Hope’s 18th Birthday **

Everything had been going well for the two girls since returning from Spring Break with Hope’s family. They were closer than ever before and seemed to have a new understanding of each other.

It had been six weeks since they had returned, and finals were just around the corner. However, before they could get bogged down with the never-ending studying, today was Hope’s birthday. Her eighteenth birthday to be precise and Josie, true to her word, is throwing her a party.

Hope had told Josie that she didn’t have to do that. She was more than happy with it being just her and Josie again, just like last year. Josie, however, would have none of that. She told her that she promised that this year she would finally have a party and she refused to let Hope talk her out of celebrating her.

“You are exceptional, and you deserve to be celebrated for everything that you are! Plus, you have never had one! I can’t let that be, I refuse! You will have your birthday party and you will just have to enjoy it.”

Hope shook her head thinking about her beautiful and amazing girlfriend. She had been planning this party since they returned from vacation. Josie thinks that she was being sneaky, and that Hope didn’t know how much she was putting into it, but Hope knows. Hope will just keep that to herself though.

Hope had just woken up and was a little surprised to find that she was in bed alone. She was positive that when she went to bed last night, Josie was curled up in her arms and they feel asleep snuggled together. She sat up a moment and looked around to see if she was just not seeing her. What she found, was a piece of paper where Josie should be.

_Hope,_

_Happy Birthday!!_ _If you wake up before I get back, don’t move! I have a surprise to start your day with. See you soon._

_-Josie_

It wasn’t anything super special, however, the fact that Josie had left her a note and was planning something for her, the thought alone made Hope’s heart beat faster in her chest.

Before Hope could think too much on this, her door was opening, and Josie was walking in with a tray full of food. She was trying and failing to do so silently as not to wake Hope. The witch managed to make it into the room and sat the tray down on the desk so that she could silently close the door. When she turned around to grab the tray, she saw that her girlfriend was sitting up smiling at her.

“Hi baby. Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you. What is all of this?”

“This is your first present. Breakfast in bed.”

Hope smiled when she saw the huge piles of food on the tray in front of her. She was so excited that she almost missed what Josie said, but not quite.

“Wait, what? First present?”

Josie looked at her like she was silly.

“Yes, your first present. You didn’t think that I was only going to get you one, did you?”

“In all truth I thought that the party was my present.”

Josie let out a loud laugh that caused the younger girl to double over. Hope didn’t see what was so funny.

“That was a good one Hope.”

Hope looked at her girlfriend and raised her eyebrow.

“Oh, you were serious! Hope, no! The party is something that you get to have because it is your birthday. That isn’t a present!”

“Well, to me it is. Since I have never had one before.”

Josie leaned over and pulled Hope into a quick hug. The fact that she thought that a birthday party was something special enough to be a gift, it just made the brunette’s heart hurt.

“Hope listen to me, you are special, and you get this party for no other reason that you are you. You deserve to be celebrated. If I have to, I will spend the rest of forever proving that to you.”

“Be careful, I’ll hold you to that.”

“Please do.”

Hope gave a small smile to the girl in front of her and nodded her head. She would give anything to Josie, and if what she wanted was to make Hope feel special, well then damn it, she would feel special for the day.

Looking at the tray of food that the other girl had brought for her, the birthday girl couldn’t help but laugh. It was a bit more of a mountain of food than a tray.

“Did you bring me one of everything that they had?”

“Two actually. I know that your wolf side makes you hungry, and I wanted to make sure that you started the day off right. I had to get to the dining hall just as the kitchen opened so that I could make sure to get everything. I am so glad that I made friends with Abigail. She let me in and let me take all of this before they opened.”

“Abigail? Is she the one that is about my height with dark almost black hair? Really sweet lady?”

“Yeah, you know her?”

“She is nice to me. She knows that I don’t like eating with everyone watching me, so she would always save me something and have it set aside so I could come in just after lunch.”

“No wonder she was so happy to help. Also, she said to give you this cake. Apparently, when I requested to use the kitchen to make you a cake, she decided to help me out, and made you this tiny little personal cake. Said to tell you happy birthday.”

“That is nice of her. She always did make me something special. Never did figure out how she learned my birthday, but she always makes me these cakes. You are going to share it with me right.”

“No, it is your cake. You should eat it.”

“But I want you to share it with me. It will make it better.”

Josie just smiled and nodded her head. She leaned in and gave Hope a small kiss to her forehead and pushed the tray a little closer to her.

“Ok, lets feed that inner wolf of yours, and then we can get ready for your next birthday surprise.”

“You are the best girlfriend in the whole history of girlfriends. I hope that you know that.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I wanted to make sure that you have the best day today. I would do anything for you Hope.”

“Well, then, that’s easily done. Spend the day with me. My days are always better with you in them.”

Josie smile brightened at hearing her girlfriend’s words. She loved the fact that she brought Hope happiness. It was all that she wanted for the older girl.

“Well, I will have to make a few arrangements and change a few plans, but I think that can be arranged. Now eat before your food gets cold.”

“Wait, if this is all for me, where is your breakfast?”

Josie held up a cup of coffee with a smile.

“Breakfast of champions in a cup.”

“No. You are going to eat some of this. You can’t expect that I am going to let you get away with coffee as a meal.”

Huffing the brunette scoots over to sit next to Hope and curl into her side.

“You never do, which is why I made sure to grab a bowl of oatmeal with some fruit.”

“And you are going to eat that and this toast and some of these pastries and…”

“Hope, babe, not all of us are wolfs. I can only hold so much. This breakfast is for you, I will sit here and eat with you, and then we can get ready for your next present.”

The older girls eyes light up. For all of her protesting, she really was excited about what Josie planned for her. The one thing that she knew for sure was that Josie was the best gift giver ever. Her gifts were always thoughtful and exactly what the other person wanted/needed.

“I see those sparkles in your eyes. Eat. I have such a day planned for you Hope.”

The two sat together eating, mostly in silence. Sharing looks and the occasional cheek kiss. It was so warm and comfortable to be together. Neither felt the need to have to fill the space with anything other than themselves. The feeling engulfed them, that they were the only two in the whole world.

After finishing their food and getting ready for their day, Josie took Hope by the hands and started to drag her out of the school towards the woods towards the old mill.

“What are we doing out here?”

“Well, I figured that the best way to start your birthday celebration would be with a few games. Since we all know that board games could be dangerous…”

Josie was looking at her with a glint in her eyes and a mischievous smile as she pulled her through the entrance of the old mill to find Hope’s next present.

There was a huge projector set up with Hope’s Play Station hooked up to it. Which was amazing as Hope hadn’t even noticed that it was missing. The brunette had already gotten the game loaded to where Josie and Hope had last left off in playing it just a day ago.

“I figured that since we were about to defeat the final boss, it would be nice to do it in epic proportions.”

The smile on Hope’s face grew even bigger than before. She couldn’t believe that Josie was this amazing!

“Josie! This is awesome! The only thing missing is the cheering section!”

“Nope, got that cover too. They should be here, any second now.”

“Hey girls! Sorry we’re late, we stopped off to get snacks and drinks for the main event.”

In walked MG and Lizzie, carrying a cooler between them with a few bags balanced on top.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Josie said that you two were about to start the final push to beat the final boss in Final Fantasy 8. We are your official cheerleaders!”

MG was just as happy and bouncy as any cheerleader that Hope had ever seen before. Lizzie on the other had looked like she would have liked to have stayed in bed for about another year.

“Thank you, guys. This is going to be awesome and ore people always make it better. I’m sure that this isn’t your idea of fun.”

“Nope, not at all.”

Josie shot her sister a look that spoke volumes to the murderous thoughts that were currently running through her head.

“But it’s your birthday and we are your friends. While I don’t get the whole video game thing, I get spending time with your friends and especially on their birthday. So here we are, ready and waiting to cheer you on to victory, blah blah blah.”

These words brought a smile to Hope’s face and caused Josie to stop trying to murder her sister with her eyes and actually chuckle a little.

“Let’s do this! I want to see you kick this bosses ass!”

They spent the next hour watching as Hope and Josie finished the last-minute level up and gathering of the magic needed to defeat the castle. Once they enter the castle, Hope explained, the fight was on.

As they made their way through the rooms and the low-level semi-bosses battels, they were finally ready to face off against the final boss.

By this point even Lizzie was getting into the action. She was jumping up and cheering just as loudly as MG when they were fighting. Screaming at the girls to watch out for their health, even if she wasn’t sure what level it really needed to be at.

For Hope, this was the best ever. This is how you were supposed to play video games. With large groups of people hanging out, talking, and screaming at the screen together. This was already turning out to be the best birthday ever.

Once they had finally defeated the boss and watched the end credits that Hope instated on as it finally gave the ending of the story the whole game told, they started to clean up. Josie told Hope that she had another surprise for her for lunch.

“Ok, see you two later, you know what you need to do?”

“No worries sis, we have it all under control. I just have to get through this tour that dad set up today.”

“What, he didn’t mention any tour to me.”

“Of course not. When he told me this morning, I told him not to tell you. It’s Hope’s birthday, so much more important than a tour for some new students. MG is going to help me and then we are going to do what needs to be done.”

“Ok, thanks Liz.”

“Always here for you sis. I’ll text you as soon as were done.”

Josie gave Lizzie a quick hug. When she pulled back, the blonde walked over to the shorter girl. She pulled her in for a hug.

“Hope, next time you want to start up this game, make sure you tell me. I am absolutely in to play. It was awesome.”

“Me too Hope. This is one of my favorite through back games. We should have regular game nights.”

“That would be great. How about we all have lunch together tomorrow and we can figure out the details.”

“Sounds good to me. Well, see you later.”

With that Lizzie and MG headed off to complete a tour and their mystery task, which Hope was assuming was setting up for the party portion of Hope’s birthday.

“You are actually letting Lizzie plan and decorate my party? I mean there is no question that she has taste, but still.”

“What? No of course not!”

The shorter girl raised her eyebrow in question at her girlfriend. Really, did she think that “code” was secretive? It was so much fun to watch Josie get flustered though.

“Fine, I am allowing her to do the foot work. But I am the one that planned it and picked everything out and told them in specific detail what to do. I would never let anyone but me plan this… and you are totally making fun of me, aren’t you?”

Hope broke out into and laugh and grabbed Josie by the waist pulling her close. She held her in a hug for a few moments before pulling back to kiss her.

It started off as a slow soft kiss, but as always with these two, they found that they couldn’t get enough of each other. The kiss deepened and soon their tongues were sharing a dance. Neither battling for dominance, both understanding that this was something that they shared, not controlled.

Before they were ready for it to end, they were interrupted by a loud ringing coming from Josie’s back pocket.

“Your pants are screaming.”

“Yeah, and my phone is ringing too.”

With a quick kiss to Hope’s shocked lips, Josie grabbed her phone out of her back pocket.

“Hello. Yes. Yes. Give us five minutes. Ok. Bye.”

“Who was that?

“You’ll see. Come on. I only have five minutes to set everything up and I have to get us back to your room.”

Hope scooped up Josie bridal style and took off at a run. Within a minute, they were standing in front of Hope’s room. She gently lowered the girl in her arms so that she could open her door.

“Thanks baby. That gives me just enough time to set everything up. Can I borrow your laptop?”

“Of course you can. You know the password. What should I do?”

“You go sit on your bed and give me a few moments.”

Josie typed in the password and went to work doing whatever it was to get the laptop set up for the next birthday surprise.

“Ok, Hope, close your eyes and give me a minute.”

Hope did as she asked and closed her eyes, covering them with her hands for good measure. She felt the bed dip as Josie climbed on next to her.

“Ok, open your eyes.”

When Hope opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of her whole family. They had all connected for a video chat for Hope’s birthday.

“Happy Birthday Hope!”

They all started to sing to her and wish her a happy and fun day. Their presents had all arrived and Josie promised that she would get them tonight at her party. Which Josie also promised she would record the opening so that they could see her reaction.

After about an hour spent with her family, it was time for lunch. Hope promised that she would call each of them the following week to talk again. She thanked them for calling and for being there with her, even if they were all worlds apart.

“We are always here for you love. We love you, never forget that.”

“I know Aunt Bex. I love you all too. We’ll talk later.”

Signing off, Hope turned to her girlfriend and more than ever, realized just how perfect she was. No one had ever gone to this much effort for her. To be so thoughtful and to think about what would make Hope happy.

“Josie, if we do nothing else today, I want you to know that you have made this the best birthday that I have had. I…. Thank you so much baby.”

The brunette smiled and brought her in for a hug. She held her tight and poured everything that she could into that hug. She needed Hope to know that there wasn’t anything in the world that she wouldn’t do for her.

“I’m glad that you like your presents so far, but this day is far from over. I still have moves that you haven’t seen, and surprises hidden up my sleeves. Now, we need to go, the next surprise is waiting for you.”

The two headed out of the room and to the dining hall. There, in the middle of the room, covered in a white cloth and sporting a bouquet of mixed flowers, very familiar to the ones that Hope had given Josie on their first date, was a small table set for two.

“Josie, this is… this is amazing and beautiful. I can’t believe that you did all of this for me.”

“Hope, I would do everything for you. This is just a small portion of the world that I would give you.”

Hope looked into the brown eyes that she had come to love and rely on. She fell so much more for this girl in this moment. She loved her and there was no mistaking that.

“Well, we have the whole room to ourselves for an hour. I managed to get it reserved for just us.”

“How did you do that?”

“I talked to dad. It is amazing how receptive he is when you say everything in just the right way.”

“You totally threatened your own father, didn’t you?”

“Absolutely not! What kind of girl do you take me for? I may have simply reminded him of a few things, and then merely mentioned that I would not hesitate to let Lizzie be in charge of keeping people away.”

Hope laughed so hard at the imagines of Alaric’s face in that moment, and of what Lizzie would do to keep people away. Priceless, this was the best. She couldn’t remember a day that she had laughed this much.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side. I have a feeling that between the two of us, you are the one that people should truly fear.”

There was a glinting in Josie’s eyes that told Hope that she was probably right. Then the witch leaned in and gave her girl a kiss on her cheek.

“I had the staff make all of your favorites. They should be here any second.”  
As the words left her mouth, food magically filled the table. All of Hope’s favorite foods were there. From steak to potatoes to baked mac ‘n cheese, and everything else that Hope had ever mentioned that she liked. Beignets of course with a side of ice cream and whipped cream and a dozen other desserts.

“This is wonderful Josie, but a lot of food for just the two of us. I know that I can eat a lot, but I think that this maybe too much, even for me, especially after breakfast and all the snacks during the game.”

“I know, but I figured whatever we don’t eat now, can be a left-overs picnic for us tomorrow.”

Grinning Hope grabbed Josie and spun her around a few times before bring her over to the table to set her down and pull out her chair.

“This is your birthday; I should be pulling out your chair.”

“I know, but since it is my birthday let me have this one thing.”

“Ok. But just this once.”

After sitting down next to Josie, the two started in on their lunch. When they were finished, Josie waived her hand and the food magically disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Grabbing the flowers, Josie offered Hope her hand and pulled her up. She kissed her sweetly on the cheek, handing over the flowers.

“OK, one more stop and then we get to go cuddle in your room for a while before getting ready for the party tonight.”

“I like that idea.”

“And I will say this, my outfit for tonight’s main event was picked out specifically with you in mind.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“I guess you’ll have to wait until tonight to see.”

Josie took Hope’s hand in her own and started walking out of the dining hall. They didn’t have far to go, as they stopped in front of Alaric’s office.

“Why are we here?”

“Dad said that he has somethings for your birthday. He asked that I bring you here after lunch so that he could give them to you.”

Hope looked nervous at what Alaric could have for her. He had never given her anything on any of her other birthdays. Why was this one so important. Was it because of what today meant for her and the school? She really didn’t think that anything had to change. She knew that she would need to speak with both Alaric and Freya about that later, but she didn’t want to think about it now.

Josie reached up and knocked on the door, waiting to hear her father call for them to come in. Once they entered, they saw that Alaric was sitting there behind his desk working on some papers. It seemed that he wasn’t going to look up to see who had entered.

“Hey dad. We’re here.”

“Oh girls, hi. Hope thank you for taking some time out of your birthday festivities for me. I know that Josie has big plans for your day, but I want to have a moment.”

“Of course.”

Smiling Alaric shook his head. He knew what must being going through her head in this moment. As much as he knew she would remember, he also knew what her turning eighteen meant. However, this was not the time for anything related to business. There would be time enough for that in the future.

“First, I want to wish you a Happy Birthday Hope. May it grant you all of your wishes.”

Alaric reaches out and pulled the girl into a hug. Holding her tight for a moment to give her time to react. And after a moment she sighs and relaxes, returning the hug to the man that has been a stand in father to her for most of her life.

This is the man that was there for her when her father couldn’t be. He was also there for her after she lost her father and her mother.

Pulling back, she gave a small smile and a head nod. She knew that he wasn’t going to let anything change their relationship, no matter what. They would find a way to work through it.

“Alright, and now for the second reason that we have called you here. I have been informed that adults, other than yourself of course, are banned from tonight’s festivities. So, that means that you get your presents now.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything. I mean, you never have before.”

Alaric looks thoughtful and sad for a moment. There was more to this than presents and Hope could tell just looking at his face. Apparently, Josie could as well, as she slipped her hand into Hope’s and squeezed.

“I know; however, these are special gifts. Things that are not so much from us as from those who would want you to have them.”

Hope took a shaky breath and nodded her head. She already had a strong sense of what was to come. Though she may not know exactly what the presents were, she knew who that were from.

“The first one I have for you Caroline sent over from France. She sent a letter with it if you would like to open that first.”

Hope took the letter from Alaric with a slight shake to her hand. She couldn’t do it. It didn’t matter what the letter said, she knew that it was something that was going to bring up memories and heartaches. She turned to Josie handing it to her.

“You want me to read it. Do you want to read it now?”

She shot a look over to her father, knowing that she might not want to do this in front of him. Hope just nodded her head. She didn’t care. She knew that he would find out about the gift from Caroline later any way, that was, if he didn’t already know. In this moment, Hope saw no reason to wait.

_Dearest Hope,_

_Happy Birthday sweet girl! I hope that this day is as special for you as you deserve._

_I was in France on business and decided to stop into the Louvre to kill a little time before a meeting I had. While speaking to one of the curators of private collections I was shown some work that was said to have influenced the Renaissance most famous artisans, including Da Vinci._

_When I saw the signature, I recognized it from years ago when it was first shown to me. I knew in that moment that this was something that you had to have. This belongs to you, no matter what that curator has to say about it._

_Enjoy and remember with love._

_Caroline_

“Did your mom just admit to stealing from the Louvre?”

“She didn’t admit to it, but yeah, I’m pretty sure that is exactly what she did.”

Alaric handed a wrapped gift to Hope that was small and rectangular in shape. Tied up with a perfect bow.

As Hope opened the gift slowly and carefully, she could feel the anticipation and anxiety that was just below the surface. She felt that she knew what she was going to find. And she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. When the wrapping fell away, she was left holding a well preserved, though ancient looking book.

Opening the book, Hope saw the first page was the sketch of a woman and a wolf. At the bottom, clearly marking the page, was her father’s signature. This was a whole book filled with her father’s sketches.

Flipping through the pages, Hope was shocked that Caroline would send her a book like this. The only thing that she could think, was that she hadn’t gone past the first few pages. Hope could feel her face heating up.

Josie leaned over and looked at the sketches to see what was causing Hope to blush so much. Upon seeing the image on the page, she let out a small yelp.

“Maybe I’ll look at these later. If you speak with Caroline soon, will you tell her thank you and let her know that I am touched and grateful to her? I would write her a letter, but I wouldn’t be sure where to send it to make sure that she received it, and since I am not allowed to do magic to send it to her, yet, I want her to know how much I appreciate the effort she went through to procure this and that she thought about me.”

Alaric didn’t miss the wording that was used. Though, he had to smile at the smirk on Hope’s face. He could tell that the years to come would be fun.

“I will pass the message along for you and ensure that she knows that you like the gift.”

Hope smiled and sat the letter in the sketch book and sat it down on the desk for the moment as Alaric looked as if there was still more.

“That was what Caroline wanted you to have, I also have something that I want to give you. This is something that was left with me, for save keeping, when you first started school her. It was supposed to go to you today, though, I was not the one that it was supposed to come from.”

For just a moment, a blink of the eye, Hope stopped. Her entire being froze. She wasn’t moving, she wasn’t breathing. It was as if she was stuck in that one second, frozen in time. Un able to break free. And then the world came crashing back to her, all at once.

The one topic that was more sensitive for Hope than her father, was the one that Alaric was about to embark on. Hope felt the walls that she had carefully constructed fall into place, as if she were lifting her shield, preparing to do battle.

Once more in a matter of minutes, Josie was there by her side, holding her hand. Grounding her and letting her know that she was still with her, even when the ghost of her past come back to visit her.

“She wanted you to have these on the day that you turned eighteen. I think she always thought that she would be here when you go them, but, like every good mother, especially one in our world, she left you a letter as well.”

Alaric handed over both gifts and the letter. Hope took them face stoic with no sign of emotion at all and just stared at them for a moment.

Just as before, she turned to Josie and handed her the letter. This one, from her mother and thus, even harder for her to read. With a nod of her head, Josie unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud.

_Dear Hope,_

_Happy 18 th birthday! You have finally made it to being an adult! Sorry to break it to you, it isn’t any better than being a kid, and there are a ton more responsibilities. _

_If you are reading this, then that means that for some reason, I am not able to be there with you today. I truly hope with everything in me, it is because you are off with your friends halfway across the world parting or that I am just delayed somewhere._

_However, with the life that we lead, and as much as it hurts me to think about leaving you, I have to believe it is because I am no longer there with you, and for that I am truly sorry. Know that I would do anything to be with you and that I love you more than my own life. You are the light in my dark world, and you are the reason that I fight. You are what makes my life worth living._

_I want you to know, no matter what, I am proud of the woman you have become. I can say that because I know the girl that you were and who you are in your core. You are your father’s daughter that is true, but you are also my daughter. You have the best of us all in you. I know that you will do great things in your life and I can wait, hopefully for a very long time, to meet you again and to hear all of your stories, starting, with the most important information, your totally epic love story._

_In that matter, I want to tell you about the gifts that you are about to open. The first is a journal that I have written in, every day since I found out that I was pregnant with you I have made an entry in a journal. I have filled many of these through the years, but this was the first. I want you to know how you changed me and how you saved your family just by being, our Hope._

_The second gift is rare and special, just like you. It is specific to the Crescent Clan. When you wear this, after turning 18, it will lead you to your wolf’s mate. When I wore it, I was led to your Uncle Elijah. Jackson was my husband and friend and I did love him, but Elijah was my mate. I hope that it helps you to find a love as strong as the one that I still hold to this day for him._

_I love you Hope. Never forget that I am always with you even if you can’t see me, hear me, or feel me. I am there, and I will never leave you and will always watch over you._

_Love Always and Forever,_

_Mom_

By the time that Josie finished reading the letter, Hope felt the cracks in her walls. You could see that she was feeling the effects of this letter. The pain at the loss of her mother was something that was, even all these years later, still a fresh wound. She wanted to stay strong in the moment, though, she felt her mother’s loss deeply.

Josie could see that Hope was holding it together for no other reason than the fact that she refused to fall apart and appear weak. Her girlfriend would truly never understand that showing emotions wasn’t weak. She knows that she is feeling her emotions, but in Hope’s mind, those were things that were to be hidden away in the dark.

“Was that everything dad?”

“Yeah, that was everything.”

“Ok, we are going to go and hang out until the party tonight. And remember, no adults, other than Hope, allowed.”

“I remember. I trust you… well I trust you.”

Alaric turned around and walked behind his desk. Before he sat down, he looked back up at Hope and smiled, in that fatherly way that he tended to after there was any mention of the tribrid’s parents.

“Happy birthday Hope. Enjoy the party and have fun.”

Hope nodded to the headmaster with a small smile. She picked up her mother’s journal and the necklace and her father’s sketchbook.

Josie took her hand and waved a goodbye to her father and walked out the door hand and hand with her girlfriend. As much as she wanted to push her to talk, she knew that now wasn’t the time. So, in silence, she led them to Hope’s room and let them in.

Hope walked over to her nightstand and sat the books and necklace down. She would look through them later. She just needed a bit of time first.

Josie busied herself around the room. She was grabbing sweatshirts for both of them and she had turned on Hope’s new giant TV and pulled up Hope’s account so that they could watch something.

Josie handed Hope the oversized sweatshirt that she favored and pulled on the one that Hope so loving told her, looked like a Pride Parade threw up on. She didn’t care, she loved it anyway.

“What do you want to watch? Anything you can think of?”

“I don’t really care. Why don’t you pick something?”

“Ok, how about Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1?”

“I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh Hope, you have no idea what you have been missing! If you like this one, they have a Vol. 2 that we can watch later.”

The shorter girl gave a small smile to the excitement that this movie brought on in her girlfriend. She loved when she got excited over the smallest things in life. It was nice to have the distraction of her girlfriend’s nerd side.

The two crawled into Hope’s bed and pulled the covers up around them. They curled into each other. Josie’s head on Hope’s shoulder and Hope’s on Josie’s head.

Throughout the movie, the girls talked about what was going to happen next and what had just occurred. Josie gave fun facts and general trivia about the comics that the movie was based on and got Hope fully immersed in the story. It was just what she needed. To be allowed to forget everything for a while and to be free.

“Ok, we need to get ready for the party.”

“But I want to watch the next one, can’t we skip the party. I mean, no one will miss us, right?”

Josie just shot the girl a look as she got out of bed, refusing to answer. She got up and went to Hope’s closet where she had hung up the garment bag that contained her dress that she planned on wearing to the party. If nothing else, she was pretty sure that once Hope saw the dress, she would move. It was a stunning red mid-thigh, off the shoulder, party dress and it fit Josie perfectly, hugging her in all of the right places.

“If you want to stay here that is fine, but I am going to put on this party dress, and I am going to go to the party that I planned specifically for you, for your eighteenth birthday. But I’m sure I can find someone else to dance with me.”

Hope’s eyes flashed golden for a moment before she shot up and ran to Josie wrapping her arms around her waist. She pulled her close and nuzzled her neck.

“Yes, and that someone will be me. Because we all know that if anyone else laid a single finger on you, especially in that tiny piece of fabric that you call a dress, because, yes, I already know it will be little more than that, I would have to break them. And honestly, I really don’t want to have to fight people or you know, tear them apart.”

“Are you shaming my dress before you even see it? I thought that you would like it.”

“Oh, I am sure that I will love that dress, and will love you in it even more. I am merely pointing out that, given the look that you gave me, most likely, there is not a lot to it. I’m one hundred percent sure that my Aunt Rebekah would wholly approve.”

“Who do you think helped me pick it out?”

“I should have known. Don’t know if I should thank her or stake her. Guess I’ll decide once I see it on you.”

“Oh, I think that you will want to thank her. Especially after you see it on me. Now I am going to go to the bathroom to get ready. When I get back, I expect to see you dressed, or I will leave without you.”

Josie escapes Hope’s arms and heads to the bathroom with her dress and make up case to get ready. Leaving Hope there staring after her.

‘Well, I guess that means that I should actually figure something out to wear.’

Moving to her closet, Hope starts to look at the options. The first thing she selects is her favorite pair of skinny jeans. They were black and well-worn is the best way. After pulling those out, she went in search of a top to match it with. Her first instinct was to go with the emerald green top that set her hair perfectly, however, the one thing that she knew for sure, was that Josie’s dress is red, so that may be a bit too much Christmasy. She could go with the black tank, however, that would lead to too much of the old vampire vibe and Josie like her best when she added splashes of color.

“Ah perfect!”

Hope pulled out a tank top that was the perfect shade. A nice Persian Blue that made her eyes really come alive. Yes, she knew the color. Why you may ask, because Josie and Lizzie made her buy it the last time they went shopping. She had actually never worn the tank yet.

Hope put everything on and then grabbed her most comfortable boots. She wanted to add a few inches, but knowing Josie, she would be dancing, and she didn’t want her feet to be swollen by the end of the day.

As Hope was leaning back up from putting on her boots, her eye catches on something on her nightstand. She had forgotten about the gifts that were half from Alaric and Caroline and half from her parents in a way. As she walked closer, she saw the necklace that was laying on top.

It was a leather strap with a small stone in the shape of a crescent moon. The stone appeared to be made of a white stone with a hint of blue at both ends. It took her a moment to think back on the naturals class when they discussed stones and crystals.

It was a moon stone looked to be naturally shaped and was attached to the leather strap by a small sliver hook. It wasn’t large or ugly. It was actually pretty. Hope remembered her mother’s letter. This was to help her find her wolf’s mate. She wondered how that worked.

Hope decided that at least it would go with her outfit, and it would be nice to have part of her mother with her tonight. When she slipped the necklace on, she instantly felt a zap of magic and then the stone was warm on her chest. After a moment it calmed down and just lay against her chest.

“Are you ready to go birthday girl?”

Hope looked up and Josie and smiled as she saw the girl standing before her. Josie stood there in her red, form fitting dress leaning against the door frame. She looked amazing. Her dress hugged her in all the right ways and her make-up was the barely there kind so that her natural beauty still shone through. She was in flats, as was now her normal go to, and she looked amazing.

“I would go anywhere with you. You look beautiful.”

Josie walked closer to Hope and wrapped her arms around her neck. Hope’s arms instinctually go around the taller girl’s waist. They pull each other close and share a quick, yet passionate kiss.

“Mmmm, don’t you think that you can be all sweet and kiss me like that, and I’ll forget about your party.”

“Girl has to try, doesn’t she?”

Josie let out a giggle and then grabbed Hope’s hand and started to drag her out of the room and towards her party. What neither of them noticed, was how the necklace around Hope’s neck started to pulse the second that Josie’s skin met Hope’s.

By the time that they made it to the old mill, it appeared that they were the last to arrive. Josie was pulling Hope through the door when everyone turned to see the couple entering and in unison, shouted their birthday wishes.

“Happy Birthday Hope!”

The birthday girl smiled at everyone and nodded her thanks. As she looked around, she saw that Josie had done an amazing job with the decorations. There was just enough in the way of twinkle lights and streamers that you could tell that this was a celebration, however, not so much as to be gaudy.

In the corner there were three tables set up. The first table held food of all varieties from sandwiches to chips to casseroles and pasta salads. The second table held a huge birthday cake and a ton of smaller desserts. The last table was the one that most of the people in the room were interested in at the moment. It had the drinks. There was soda and teas and other non-alcoholic beverages for anyone that wanted to stay sober, and then there was everything that could be gathered by the vamps using their compulsion. They had beer and vodka, whiskey, and bourbon, for those few who actually knew the difference. They had gotten some Mike’s hard drinks along with other non-beer options for those that preferred them.

All and all it looked like Josie had gone to a lot of trouble to pull this all together. Kaleb was in charge of the music at the moment. Jed was playing bartender.

“Hey babe, do you want a drink?”

“Yeah, I want to find Lizzie and MG too. I want to thank them for helping out so much with getting all the final touches together while I was with you today.”

“Ok, let’s get that drink and then we can look for them.”

The two girls made their way over to the drink table. Jed was dancing around like he was Tom Cruise in _Cocktails_. He even had the sunglasses on.

“Hey there birthday girl! What can I get for you and your lovely lady?”

“I’ll have a bourbon neat. Josie, you still want vodka lemonade?”

“Yes please. Thanks.”

“Coming right up ladies.”

Jed proceeded to try out all of his fanciest moves, which in reality, weren’t that many. He basically shuffled the bottles around and then did a long pour. After a minute he handed both girls their drinks. They thanked him and then headed off in search of Lizzie.

After a few minutes of searching, the girls were able to find the blonde twin. She was standing near the DJ booth watching as MG was talking music with Kaleb.

“Lizzie, everything looks amazing! Thank you so much for all of your help.”

“Josie, I am offended that you would think that it would be anything less than amazing. Obviously, I’m amazing and so is everything that I do. And like I said before, anything for you sister dear.”

Josie leaned in and hugged her sister. She was just so happy that everything turned out like she had hoped that it would. Especially after learning that Lizzie had to give a tour that day.

“Oh, I almost forgot! How did that tour go?”

“It was ok, I guess. New wolf and his brother. We don’t know what the brother is, but dad said it was confirmed that he is supernatural, so they are both staying.”

“If they are bothers, wouldn’t he be a wolf too?”

Josie tilted her head in a confusion.

“Foster brothers. They have both been in the same home for a while now apparently. They have really bonded or whatever.”

“Oh, well that great. I know that this was always easier on me for having you with me here. I’m glad that they have each other right now.”

Hope was standing beside Josie, half listening to the sisters talk, drinking her bourbon, and looking around at all of the people. She was watching MG and Kaleb arguing over the music. Jed was trying to impress a few girls with his skills. She was smirking and laughing a little as she watched the show that was her friends, when suddenly she felt someone collide into her back.

“Raf man! Come on, give me a break!”

“Sorry Lan, I was just trying to help man.”

Hope turned around to look at who just knocked into her. She discovered a lanky boy with a full head of curly brown hair. He looked like one of those boy that would hole up in his room talking about random fantasy or sci-fi shows for hours on end.

Next to him, laughing, stood a taller boy. He looked like he was made of pure muscle, completely built, and knew it. The smile on his face was a perfect mix of the sweet boy next door and the cocky playboy. He would be trouble for the girls at this school that was for sure and was going to give Parks a run for her money at being the local heartbreaker.

“I’m so sorry. My brother here doesn’t always remember that not all of us have wolf strength and reflexes.”

“It’s fine. You must be the two new student. Just started today right?”

“That’s us. I’m Raf and this is my brother Landon. I’m sorry about knocking him into you like that, but Landon here has been staring at you with moon eyes since you walked through the door. I thought that I would help him step up to talk to you. He is a little on the shy side.”

“I’m sorry about him. He talks a lot and says thing that he shouldn’t. Feel free to completely ignore everything he just said.”

“It’s ok, no harm done. I hope that you both have fun and enjoy the party.”

“Wait, um, would you like to dance… with me?”

“That is really sweet, but no thank you.”

Hope turned back around and rejoined Josie and Lizzie. It seemed that the blonde had been filling her sister in on their newest students.

“Raf seems like he used to be sweet boy, but whatever he has been though has changed him. Now he is exactly the kind of boy that dad always warned us about. Sweet on the outside and damaged on the inside.”

“What do you mean Liz?”

“You can tell that there is some real trauma there. Prob whatever caused the curse to activate in him. You were just talking to him Hope, what do you think?”

“I think that the girls of this school are in trouble and that Parks is going to have real competition for the girls of this school.”

“Oh really, you think so, should I be worried?”

Josie asked with a smirk firmly placed on her lips, as she wrapped her arms around Hope’s shoulders and started to sway to the slow song that was playing.

“Nope, you have nothing to worry about. You know I have a very specific type.”

“Really, tell me about this very specific type.”

“Well first, brunette with deep emotional brown eyes that I can get lost in. Legs that go on for days are a plus. Someone that accepts me for who I am is a must. They would have to throw me my very first birthday party ever. Has to be a twin. Oh, and the most important think, the one thing that I have to have, **HER** name has to be Josie Saltzman.”

“I have to give it to you, that is very specific.”

“You two make me sick.”

Lizzie fake gaged and then laughed at the couple as they blushed. They always seemed to forget about everyone else when they were looking at each other. Losing themselves in each other.

“Let’s grab MG and we can all dance. If I hang out with you two any longer, I will end up getting a cavity.

Grabbing the boy, the four friends headed to the dance floor. They started out in a group dancing for a few songs. Then it turned in to Hope and MG taking turns showing off. The twins jumped in and started to perform an act that they had spent years perfecting.

While Hope was standing off to the side watching her girl, she felt someone come up beside her. With a slight turn of the head, she saw the boy from earlier and his mop of curly hair. Landon reached out and grabbed Hope’s arm. He started to pull her closer to himself.

“Come on, just one dance. Really, I’m a nice guy. Give me a chance. I think you’ll like me.”

Hope’s eyes turned gold from being grabbed. Before she could respond or push the boy off, he started screaming as his entire arm burst into flames. He was flailing around frantically trying to put his arm out.

Raf ran over and was dumping water on his arm and patting at the fire attempting to put it out. No matter what they did the fire wouldn’t extinguish.

“I believe she said ‘No’. You really should listen better.”

“Who the hell are you, her keeper.”

“No, I’m her girlfriend.”

The tall, muscled boy turned back to Josie with a snarl on his lips.

“Oh, I see, you are so insecure with your relationship and jealous because you know you aren’t enough for her. Because of that you have to set the boy on fire for even talking to your girl?”

“No, Hope can handle herself, I set him on fire because she said ‘No’ and trust me, my fire is a lot better for his health than what was about to happen to him.”

Hope reached over and took Josie’s hand in her own and turned her to face her quickly. She brought her in for a searing kiss that set fire to the is a whole different way. It was passionate and explosive. Everything and everyone else faded away and it was just them left in the world.

After several minutes, or what could have been days, they pulled apart resting their foreheads together. The look that blazed in both of their eyes spoke volumes to each other.

“I love you.”

Josie blinked her eyes rapidly. Did she hear what she thinks she just heard. Did she just hear what she thought she did?

“Hope, please tell me that I just heard you say what I think I heard you say. Please tell me that you really just said that?”

“If you think you heard me say that I Hope Mikaelson, love you, Josette Saltzman, then yes, you heard me.”

Josie threw herself fully back into Hope crashing their lips together. If it weren’t for the tribrid’s enhanced strength and reflexes, they would have ended up on the floor. As it was, they still stumbled with the force of the impact. After an eternity that was far too short, Josie pulled back and stared directly into Hope’s eyes.

“I love you too! I love you so much Hope. I have loved you since I was eight years old and you first talked to me. I have loved you since you were that twelve-year-old that pinned girls to the ceiling for being mean to me. I will love you forever.”

“Always and forever and longer still. You will have my love for longer than I live. Until the universe ends and still longer.”

The two girls stayed wrapped in each other for the rest of the party. Lizzie having to pull them apart so that Hope could blow out her candles and open her presents. Even through this, Josie was right there with her. Always touching her, always within reach whenever Hope wanted to remind herself that she was real.

When the night finally ended, and everyone went back to their rooms, Josie and Hope went to Hope’s room together. It had been a roller coaster of a day, but it was still the best birthday that Hope had ever had, and it was all thanks to this girl.

After changing for bed, they both climbed in and with practiced ease, melted into each other for the night. This was the way that they belonged.

“Good night Jo. I love you.”

“Good night Hope. I love you too.”

“I am never going to get tired of hearing that or saying it for that matter.”

“Good, because neither am I.”

The two leaned in perfectly in sync and shared a loving kiss. With Hope’s arms wrapped around her, Josie snuggled further into her girlfriend. Within no time, the girls fell into a perfect and peaceful sleep.

**T.B.C.**


	13. Unbelievable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls get even closer. (Yes, this is the smutt chapter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone who is still hanging in there with this story. I am sorry that it has taken me so long for this update. My first semester of grad school is keeping me busy. I have not forgotten this story and I am still working on it.

** 4 months later **

This summer was the longest summer for Hope and Josie. The reason for that; they only got to spend the first week of the vacation together before they were torn apart. (Yes, both girls knew that they sounded dramatic when they said it like that, but they were teens in love.) Hope went home to New Orleans to see her family and Josie spent the summer with her mother and sister in Europe. Honestly, you would think that they would be happier to see the relatives that they rarely got to see, but they both missed the other.

They had tried to convince the adults that they should be allowed to spend the summer together, but that was a no go. Hope went so far as to point out the fact that she was eighteen and an adult and should be allowed to do what she wanted. That didn’t go over well at all and ended with a Mikaelson style argument. It was only ended when Caroline stepped in to say that it didn’t matter if Hope came to Europe, Josie was spending her time with her and her sister. So, this had left the girls with long calls, texting so much that they weren’t in the conversations with their families half the time and video chats.

To say the very least, they missed each other. Thus, to no one’s surprise, the moment they laid eyes on each other when they returned to school, a week before classes started, on move in day, they ran to each other like two people in one of those old movies. Josie jumped into Hope’s arms and crashed their lips together in an all-consuming kiss.

They clung to each other tightly, never wanting to let go of the other again. The last three months had been tormenting for the two. Hope had sworn to Josie in one of their late night video calls, that this was the last summer that they would have to ever spend apart. Josie pointed out that she would only be seventeen by the next summer so that she had no say in anything for two more years. Hope simply restated that they would not be separated again.

As the two pulled back just enough that they still shared the same air, but enough so that the need for oxygen was met, they laid their foreheads together. They refused to release the other girl for fear that they would be nothing more than a daydream and vanish.

“I missed you so much.”

Josie wrapped her arms tighter around Hope’s neck.

“I missed you too. Everyday.”

Hope pulled the taller girl more fully against her allowing herself to revel in feel of holding her love in her arms again.

“We are never going that long without seeing each other in the flesh again.”

“Never. I can’t stand to be away from you for that long.”

Hope slipped her hand behind Josie’s head and pulled her in for another, breath taking kiss. Moaning at the sensation of having Josie’s lips pressed so fully to her own.

As they were really getting into the kiss and started to allow their hands to roam, they were forcefully pulled apart.

Josie blinked at the loss of warm, delicious lips and the overall warmth Hope. She turned to see what or who had separated them, and found her sister standing there with an annoyed look on her face. What was her problem?

“Really, you couldn’t wait for like five minutes to see your mutt?”

Hope glared at Lizzie. She really didn’t care that she insulted her, again, but she needed to back off with the attitude towards Josie. Sister or not, this was not something that anyone could get away with.

Before the tribrid had a chance to say anything, Josie just smirked at her twin and let out a laugh.

“You’re just jealous because MG doesn’t get here until tomorrow.”

Lizzie looked half aghast at being called out and half impressed that her sister had been the one to do it.

“Why did Kaleb have to wait until the last minute to leave? MG promised that he would be here when I got back.”

Hope couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped her at the whine in the blonde’s voice. She really did find it amusing when Lizzie let her guard down like this.

Josie patted her sister gently on the back in comfort. She knew that she would be the same if the roles were reverse. Well, she actually would have just gone to Hope’s room and pouted but, she would have felt the same.

“He said that he would try to get here sooner if he could. They were already in the car and driving as fast as the car would go. You know that boy is going to do everything in his power to get to you as fast as he can.”

“I know. Stupid Kaleb! Why did they have to wait so late to leave? I miss him.”

“Trust me I know what you mean Liz.”

The blonde nodded her head and then just walked off without another word. Sometime, Josie just didn’t know what to do about her twin. Shaking her head, she turned back to her girlfriend, who she knew exactly what to do with.

“So, I am sleeping in your room tonight, right?”

“Of course! After three months apart, I am not letting you go.”

Smiling widely, Hope bent over and with one hand picked up Josie’s luggage and took the taller girls hand in her with the other. Together they turned and started up the stairs. They made a quick stop to the twin’s room to drop everything off and then went directly to Hope’s room for the night.

They spent the night sharing stories from the summer and reveling in the kisses that they had missed so much. While they laid in bed, holding each other tight, they discussed everything that the new year was going to bring them.

Late into the night, when they could no longer keep their eyes open, they drifted off to sleep, tightly and securely wrapped in each other’s arms.

****

** 3 Weeks Later **

School had been in session for two weeks and classes and activities were once again in full swing. All of the students new and old were gearing up for the upcoming tryouts for their respective activities.

Hope was in the main hall, waiting for Josie to get down from her room so that they could go have breakfast together. Josie had needed to go get on her uniform for the tryouts and wanted to be able to go directly to the field after they ate.

While Hope waited, Lizzie used the opportunity to hound her, for what seemed like the hundredth, but in reality, was more like the twentieth, time in that last week.

“Oh, come on Hope! Just say yes already. You know you are going to do it the second that Josie bats her pouty puppy eyes at you anyway. Just say yes and save her the trouble.”

“Lizzie, I have already told you twenty times that I am not trying out and that is all there is to it. Let it go!”

Suddenly Hope felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her from behind. Having already know that she was coming, Hope turned her head which allowed Josie the access that she needed to give her cheek a kiss. Turning back to Lizzie with a smirk and a devilish wink.

“Hey baby. Did you get everything that you needed?”

“Yup! I am all ready for try outs today! I have been waiting for this since last year!”

“Jo, you sound super excited!”

“Yeah! We are going to have the best time this year. We are captains this year. We get to lead the team.”

Lizzie smirked and there was an evil glint in her eyes. Hope knew that she was going to wind up not liking whatever was about to happen.

“I was just telling your **GIRLFRIEND** that tryouts were today and telling her how she should try out for the team. I mean, that way you two could spend even more time together.”

Josie got even more excited and started jumping up and down! She spun Hope around and grabbed on to her shoulders, giving her erratic kisses al over her face.

“That would be so great! I know that you don’t like teams or sports, or you know, team sports, but would you please try out, for me?”

With her lip in a pout and the eyes batting, Josie’s puppy look has never failed, and this wasn’t going to me the first time either. Hope was a sucker for her girlfriend.

“Even though I told Lizzie **NO** twenty times,”

She turns to Lizzie and glares at her.

“I can’t say no to you, especially when you are all cute and pouty. Fine, I guess I’m trying out for the team.”

Josie was so happy that she grabbed her girl and pulled her in for a deep kiss right there not caring who was there to witness it. As she swiped her tongue across Hope’s lips, they opened to let her tongue slide in. The two were pulling each other tighter. Their hands started to wander lower and lower.

“Oh, gag me please! If I have to watch you two, make out this whole season I am going to stab myself in both eyes.”

Pulling apart so that they could address Lizzie, the girls still never took their eyes from each other.

“You know, you could always walk away. No one is making you stay here. In fact, please leave.”

Lizzie huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder before storming off in search of MG to complain about how she is so mistreated.

“Now that she is gone, where were we?”

Before Hope can reconnect their lips, Josie was spinning out of her girlfriend’s arms and pulling her with her towards the dining hall to grab a quick breakfast.

They both grabbed a breakfast wrap and juice eating as they headed towards the field. They tossed their trash when they got to the entrance. Just before they entered, Josie turned towards Hope and wrapped her arms around her neck giving her a short quick peck to her lips.

“Try outs first. Then we can have more kissing. And, if you make the team….”

Hope picked her girlfriend up and started running out onto the field. She wanted these try-outs over.

“If I make the team?”

Josie leans in close so that she can whisper directly into Hope’s ear barely above a whisper.

“Well, if you make the team, you will definitely be deserving of a reward.”

Smirking, Hope gave Josie a quick peck to her cheek and headed to the locker room with all of the rest of the students who were trying out. She quickly got changed and then headed back to the field. While choosing colors, she made sure to pick a yellow band, as she noticed that Josie was wearing yellow and Lizzie blue.

When Josie saw her, she again got an excited bounce to her step and ran over to hug the shorter girl.

“Yay! You are on my team.”

“I’m always on your team Jo.”

The two walked over to the center of the field and waited with all the rest of the students as Dr. Saltzman, started his speech, the same one he did before the tryouts every year. Alaric always liked to go over the rules, mainly, that the Salvatore School never wins and there was to be no use of powers while playing other schools.

And, as it did every year, this caused groans and there was always at least one student who…

“Come on Dr. S, this is stupid. I get not using powers, but can’t we at least try playing without powers. I mean I was Division One before getting turned. I don’t lose.”

“Well, if you can’t lose, then you can’t play at all. I know it is hard for some of you, more so than others, but this is the way that it has to be. We are known as a school for rich troubled kids. They don’t win games.”

There were more groans and a few mutters. Only those with super hearing could heard those, and they were not repeating what was being said.

“Now, I know that it isn’t fun to not be allow to go all out in the public games, but that is why we always hold our own games as well. This is the tryout, but those of you that make the team will receive a copy of the schedule for both the public games and those that will be played here at the school.”

Everyone sat and listened for the next twenty minutes as Alaric went over all the rules and how the team dynamic was made and various other things that most students there could care less about. Finally, once he finished, (re: Lizzie told him, in her own very Lizzie way, to stop talking), the try outs finally started.

“Ok, Lizzie and I are the two team captains. We will watch as you play and evaluate you and then make the decisions, with approval from dad and Mr. Williams on who makes the cut. This is a one game tryout. There will be no second chances, so show us your best!”

Hope was standing back watching as Josie took command of the situation, something that she was oh so good at doing. Josie was a born leader. The only reason that no one, other than her, saw that was that she spent most of her time following and helping others. So that is what everyone has come to expect from the brunette.

“To start, if you are in yellow, please come to my side of the field and if you are in blue, please go to Lizzie’s side of the field.”

Josie paused to give everyone time to get to their respective sides. While she was waiting, she had a moment where she stiffened and slightly turned so that Hope’s vision was blocked by the taller girl.

It was too late; however, Hope had already seen the two boys walking over to Lizzie’s team. If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, there would be blood shed before the tryouts were over.

“Ok, I want everyone to remember that this is Flag Football. There is no tackling or rough play of any kind. You are to only grab for the flags on each person’s belt. If there is any violence of any kind, you will be benched. Am I understood?”

Everyone on the field nodded their heads in acknowledgement that they understood what was being told to them. They then started to huddle with their respective teams.

“Hope, I already know what you are thinking, and I need you to not do anything. Just let it go. They aren’t worth it.”

Hope smiled at the pout that was on Josie’s lips. She could never deny this girl anything. Especially not when she pouted like that. It just wasn’t fair that she could be that cute. That pout should come with a warning label.

“Fine. They are forgotten. The only person on this field that matters is you anyway.”

Josie smiled at Hope and pulled her in for a quick yet heated kiss that was over much quicker than either of them wanted.

“Practice now, making out after.”

Hope grinned at her girlfriend and nodded her head. She wanted to get this tryout over so that she could get Josie alone.

“Listen up you rejects! We play until one side has no flags or until the clock runs out on the board. If you want to make either team, show us what you’ve got!”

Lizzie turned and walked to the center of the field where her dad was waiting to flip a coin to see which side got the ball first.

Josie winked at Hope and then walked over to meet her sister to get these tryouts over with. She really wanted to get Hope alone. She had a feeling that she would deserve a reward.

****

The tryouts had been going pretty well, there was only about two minutes left and the score was nearly even. Lizzie’s team was up by three points after, what Josie still called and illegal move by Raf, helped Landon to score a field goal. Lizzie had agreed with Josie but didn’t want to start an argument there and then. Especially since it took six vampires and three wolves to keep Hope from ripping into Raf when Josie had gotten knocked down during the play.

Hope was now standing closer to Josie and refused to go back to her assigned position. She wasn’t going to let those two idiots anywhere near her girl again. Not even Josie, no matter how much the witch had asked her to calm down and try to relax, this was the best that she was able to get.

This was the time to make a last play and the ball was with Josie’s team. After the huddle, and Josie getting another power up from her girlfriend, they all lined up and the last play of the game started. The ball was snapped, and everything seemed to be going as plan, that is, until Josie saw Hope running head long towards her. The brunette, very confused as this was not part of the play they had planned, looked up to see what was happening. What she saw was both Raf and Landon with matching smirks on their faces, and they were headed right towards her.

Before Hope could block her or the boys could reach her, Josie flung her hand out and sent the two boys flying through the air away from her.

“Josie are you alright? I heard them talking right as I was heading to catch the ball. They were planning on tackling you and making sure that it hurt. Raf told Landon that he would make him look good.”

“I’m fine, but I don’t understand why they have been targeting me this whole game. I mean, it wasn’t that big of a deal to set the boy on fire. Most of the kids here would have grumbled and let it go by now.”

“Yeah, well, Raf wants to be Alpha, so he wants to show that he is dominate to everyone so that fire on his brother looked bad. Landon is a moron that hasn’t figured out that no means no particularly coming from me. He needs to learn that there is no way at all that I am going to leave you to date his sorry ass.”

Josie looked at the shorter girl with a raised eyebrow and her hand on her hip. How the hell did her girlfriend know more gossip than she did? Hope hated gossip, and most people.

“And how do you know all of this? The only people you talk to are me and…”

“Lizzie is the queen of gossip. Those two dumbasses apparently don’t feel the need to whisper or cover up their plans. Lizzie told me after that last play what they had been saying. Apparently, they have been talking shit about you and planning on ways that Landon could make me want him for the last week.”

Josie could feel her blood boiling. She really didn’t care about Raf, he was just being a dump wolf and hopefully Jed would put him in place when he lost Alpha to him. Landon was a whole other story. When a girl said no, she meant no. Especially when that girl was her girl!

Grabbing Hope’s hand and taking some power, Josie flicked her wrist and sent Landon up the flagpole hanging him by his underwear.

The boy’s screams, from both the height and the pain from the wedge that he was receiving, brought his brother to his defense. Taking one look and seeing Josie with her hand flung out, Raf started to charge at Josie. Hope turned and prepared to take the boy down, but she never got the chance, as he was flung through the air and pinned to the goal post at the end of the field.

Walking to the center of the field where both boys could see her, Josie did a quick spell to amplify her voice to make sure that she had everyone’s attention.

“Now I want you two to listen and listen well. I am going to say this once and only once. I am tired of your trash talking and I am tired of your attitudes. Landon, get over yourself. Hope is with me and she is not going to leave me for some mop top geek boy. When a girl says no, she means no. Raf, you want to be Alpha and show how strong you are? Take that up with the current Alpha Jed. You have a problem with the fact that I keep putting you in your places? First, don’t be so pathetic. Second, be thankful that it is me and not Hope. I have saved you both now twice from dealing with Hope when she gets mad. Trust me that this isn’t something that you want to have to deal with. Ask around and see what happens when people mess with Hope, or better yet, ask what happens when people mess with me. I will not save you again. Next time, I will let Hope do what she wants. And before you ask, yes, this is me saving you.”

With that, the brunette let go of the magic, and released of both boys. If she made sure to drop them to the ground a little harder than needed, what could she say, they really pissed her off.

Hope turned to face her girlfriend, and her breathing was labored which was weird for the tribrid. Josie noticed next that the blue eyes that she loved so much were flashing golden.

“That was the hottest thing that I have ever seen. Come with me.”

Hope grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and dragged her off towards the woods.

****

Once in the woods and away from the field and thus all of the kids that have supernatural hearing, Hope turned to her girlfriend, pushing her up against a tree. She closed her eyes and moved close enough to Josie that if they breathed, they would be touching.

“Seeing you put those boys in their place was one of the hottest things that I have ever seen. I love it when you show everyone who is in charge.”

Josie could feel a blush trying to creep up on her face but she tried holding it back so she could tease her girl a little.

“Oh really? Why don’t you show me exactly how much you love it?”

Hope, taking the invitation, moved quickly and crashed her lips together with Josie’s and wasted no time in letting her hands start to wander. Josie moaned into the kiss at the sensations that she was feeling from being touched by the beauty that was her girlfriend, which allowed Hope to slip her tongue into the younger’s girls mouth.

Hope gripped Josie’s hips with both hands pulling them closer together as she deepened the kiss. After months apart, the girls found that lately they couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. Always wanting more and more. Have an insatiable need to touch and be touched by each other.

The shorter girl let her hands roam upwards from hips to waist and under her girlfriend’s shirt. The smooth, warm, flawless skin that she felt there seemed to stoke a fire in the pit of her stomach.

The moment Hope’s finger connected with her skin; Josie snapped out of her daze and realized that she could touch the other girl back. She ran her hands up into the auburn hair that she loved so much and pulled Hope even closer into the fiery kiss.

Breaking off from kissing Josie, Hope started to work her way down the long slender neck that was calling to her. Giving kisses down one side and up the other. Leaving little nips and sucking on certain spots as she heard the taller girl moan or scrap her scalp harder.

Josie needed more of the girl kissing her neck and started to work her hands down from her hair. Dragging her fingers down her length and scratching at her clothes until one hand came to rest on her ass, squeezing and pulling her that much closer and the other made its way under her shirt. Josie started to claw at Hope’s back, needing her desperately.

She wanted to feel her all over. She had a fire, a burning ache inside herself for the want and need of Hope. In one swift move, Josie managed to turn them around so that Hope’s back was to the tree and Josie’s lips were now on Hope’s neck.

Kissing and sucking her way down the silky-smooth skin that was on display, the brunette was leaving as many marks as she could. They would fade before a new one could be left, but neither girl cared in that moment. It was all about letting Hope know that Josie was claiming her, even if it was only the two of them that knew it. Needing more, Josie pulled Hope’s jersey down, almost ripping it, to expose more skin, allowing her to kiss along Hope's collar bone. She wanted to touch her everywhere and to never stop. The more that she got to feel of Hope and to kiss Hope the more that she wanted her. She wanted to rip off her jersey, so that she could move down to the swell of Hope’s breast. She kissed across from the left of her collar bone to the right.

All the while, Hope was reaching for any part of the younger girl that she could get a hold of. She was just as desperate to feel their skin pressed together. Everything in her was screaming to just take Josie then and there. She loved Josie with everything that she was, and she wanted to show her that love.

Just as Josie was making a move to pull up Hope’s shirt and get it out of the way, the older girl stopped her. Hope’s head shot up and started to lean towards the football field.

“What?”

Josie was confused as to why Hope had so abruptly stopped. Her mind was fogged with the steam of their heavy make out session.

“Someone is coming. As much as I really don’t want to stop, I don’t want anyone to catch us either.”

Josie was panting, attempting to slow her breathing. With a nod she moved to straighten her clothes. She really didn’t want to stop, but she agreed with Hope. She wanted the beauty that was her girlfriend all tousled and heated, looking like a sexy dream, all to herself and didn’t want to share.

Hope was staring at the beautiful girl before her and she wanted nothing more than to continue what they had started. She couldn’t get enough of the feel of Josie’s body pressed against her own. The sound of her panting in her ear as she kissed down her neck. Hope was starting to breathe heavier at the thought.

“Want to continue this in my room?”

“Yes!”

Grabbing the girls hand, Hope started to run for the school and her bedroom.

****

Once the girls reached Hope’s dorm room, Josie had her hands snaking up her girl’s back and circling around, to pull the shorter girl flush against her. She started to kiss down her neck, effectively distracting the tribrid from opening the door.

“Josie, mmmm, baby, please. Let me open the door.”

“I’m not touching your hands. You can open the door.”

Hope’s eye flashed and in an instant the door flung open and she twirled grabbing the taller girl and slammed her into the back of the door, causing it to bang shut.

Josie let out a loud moan, as Hope within moments, had her lips pressed to her neck, leaving nips, and bites all over. Latching on to Josie pulse point and sucking. These would not heal as fast as they did with Hope, but at this moment, neither girl cared about that. All that mattered was the girl in front of them.

Josie felt like her skin was on fire everywhere that Hope was touching. She just wanted more. She dipped her head down to capture Hope’s lips with her own. She needed to kiss her girlfriend and to hold her close. The feeling of her heart trying to beat out of her chest was too much. She wanted more yet it already felt like too much.

Just then, Hope pulled back and looked deep into Josie’s eyes. She was searching for something, but what the brunette couldn’t say. A moment later it seemed that the older girl found what she was looking for and gave a small half smile. Bringing her hand up to cup Josie’s face, she leaned in to touch their foreheads together.

“I want you to know that I love you. I love you more than anyone and that you are my always and forever.”

Josie felt her heart melt and explode at the same time and wanted nothing more than to tell Hope that she felt the same. However, she knew that there was more to be said, so she waited.

“I want this, I want this with you. But I want to be sure that you and I are both on the same page and that we are both ready. If you are not a hundred percent sure and ready, then we can wait. I don’t want to make you feel any pressure.”

Josie smiled and brought her hand up to rest on Hope’s cheek and rubbed a little in comfort. How could she be so lucky as to have this wonderful girl love her.

“Hope, I love you with all of my heart and all that I am. I only want this if it is with you. I am ready, but I want you to know that if you aren’t, I would wait a lifetime to be with you. As long as I get to be by your side and love you every day.”

Hope grabbed on Josie's hip and gripped them tightly, pulling her more fully to her. Then, in one swift move she lifted her into the air and walked them over to her bed. Hope sat down on the edge and pulled Josie to sit in her lap.

Hope raised her head to reconnect their lips together. This kiss, while still passionate and burning, held an undercurrent of love and devotion.

While holding close to each other, Hope scooted to the head of the bed and laid down with Josie on top of her. Holding tightly not wanting to let go.

In the woods, everything had moved so fast and the two girls were letting their hormones control the situation, now however, as they had all the time they wanted, they allowed themselves to savor every touch and caress.

Slowly and somewhat shyly they began to undress each other. Taking their time with each article to lovingly explore the new skin that was revealed.

The moment that Josie removed Hope’s jersey her eyes widened. This was not the first time that she had seen Hope in nothing but a bra, however, this time it was different. They weren’t in a changing room or swimming, and she knew that this time they wouldn’t be stopping themselves.

The brunette slowly reached out and cupped the mounds before her. She massaged them and gave little squeezes. As if mesmerized by the splendor before her, she leaned down and started to kiss every inch of breast, both covered and not.

The feeling of being touched by Josie, caused Hope to let out a deep moan. The feeling of the other girl’s lips on her breasts caused her to buck her hips up, pressing their hot centers, still clad in too many clothes, together.

The sounds that the girl under her was making, spurred the brunette to continue lavishing kisses all over Hope’s chest. She was making sure not to miss an inch of the bounty before her, Josie lifted her head and looked the other girl in the eyes. Warm brown meeting striking blue in an intense gaze that spoke volumes.

She didn’t say a word and yet Hope heard everything she was telling her. This caused Hope to let out a moan as she could feel the moister gathering at her center. The more that Josie touched her, the more turned on she became and the more she wanted to touch back.

"Mmmmm, Josie, baby that feels amazing."

"I have been dreaming of these magnificently beautiful breast for a long time. To be honest, they have had a starring role in some of my most amazing fantasies of you."

With an eyebrow raise and a smirk that appeared firmly on Hope’s face, Josie could see the full-on cockiness flowing through Hope with that admission. The fact that Josie admitted to having fantasies about her was enough to really get Hope going.

With one swift move, Hope was out of bed and locking the door. Josie saw her wave her hand and the whole room started to glow a golden color, and it appeared that a seal was put in place. This Josie assumed was a silencing spell.

Josie propped herself up on her elbows and looked across the room as Hope slowly started to take off the rest of her clothes in what appeared to be a slow-motion strip tease. While she did this, she looked directly into Josie eyes. The look that Hope was using was setting Josie’s body aflame. She wanted to make sure that the younger girl knew that she was all hers and that she was doing this for her.

Josie rose to the challenge, never one to be out done, stood up, without breaking eye contact, and began to remove her clothes as well.

There was no shyness in this moment as both girls felt sexy being seen by their partner. In this moment, it felt as if they were the most beautiful woman in the whole world.

Walking back towards the bed, and Josie, Hope looked like a wolf about to pounce on her prey.

When Hope reached the top of the bed and was hovering over her naked girlfriend, her whole face softened when she looked into Josie’s eyes and saw the love shining for her there.

"You are so beautiful Josie. I am thankful every day that you pulled me into that alcove and kissed me when we were girls. And that you pulled me into that closest again last semester. The day that you choose me to be with you, that is the day that my whole life changed. The best thing that ever happened to me was you." Hope looked down at the girl that she so loved and knew that there wouldn’t be a day that she wouldn’t feel this way about her.

Josie cupped Hope's face and stared deeply into the pools of blue that she felt like she could drown in and do it gladly. "Hope, you were never a choice. You were the only girl that I have ever loved and the only one I ever wanted. I just had to wait for you to see me.”

“I have always seen you Josie. I always will.”

Hope pressed her lips into Josie's softly and brought her hand up to hug her cheek. When she sensed the witch needed to breathe, she started kissing down her neck leaving a trail of kisses and little bites. Once she lavished the right side, she moved to the left to do the same thing.

With every kiss and nip, Josie would let out the most amazingly breathy moaning. They were spurring Hope to continue showering the girls neck with her lips and teeth. She knew that there would be more than one hickey in the morning, but she couldn’t bring herself to care, and from the noises coming from Josie, she didn’t either.

She continued down the witch's collar bone, making sure that she didn't leave any skin un-kissed along the way. When she reached her breasts and was given a full view of the beautifully tan mounds, Hope let out her own moan.

Hope took the right nipple into her mouth and ran her tongue along it. Savoring the moment that her tongue got its first taste. Giving in to the need, she lowered her mouth and began to suck on the nipple bringing it to a hardened nub. Once it was hard, she bit down and gave a soft tug.

"Oh fuuuk! Hope I love the feel of your mouth on me."

Smiling, the tribrid lowered her mouth back down to her love's left nipple. She took the bud into her mouth and gave it the same treatment. Gently biting and sucking on it, running her tongue around it to bring it to a hardened point. Releasing the nipple with a pop, she brought her hands up to palm the girl's breast. Wanting to hold and feel Josie’s breast, she left kisses on the exposed skin as she continued to massage them. The skin was so smooth, and Hope was quickly addicted to the silky texture.

While Hope was working over Josie's breast, the younger girl used every functioning brain cell she had left to run her fingers around Hope's breast that were loose just above her. She wanted to do more, and with the help of a little spell, flipped Hope over onto her back.

Josie sat up looking down at a shocked Hope. She leaned forward and placed her hands-on Hope’s bare shoulders and gave a little grind of her hips causing both girl to shudder and let out moans at the pleasure.

When Hope’s eyes slammed open, Josie saw that her girlfriend’s eyes were laced with gold. She loved it when her wolf eyes and human eyes blended together. Leaning over Josie kissed Hope hard letting everything that she was feeling in that moment be expressed by that one kiss.

Hope ran her hands up and down Josie’s back feeling all of the exposed skin that she could get her hands on. As they continued to kiss, Hope let her hands continue south until they were resting on Josie’s ass. She squeezes her cheeks and used them to cause Josie’s core to grind into her again.

“Fuck Hope! I want you so bad, right now.”

“Me too baby. I want you so much.”

Josie ran her hands all over Hope’s tone stomach and down to her hips. Both girls thought that it was one of the most erotic things they had ever felt. Jolts of electricity seemed to pass between them as Josie moved further down.

Hope looked into the coffee colored eyes of her girlfriend and understood what was about to happen, and this triggered a wave of pleasure to course through her at the thought. This was their first time. Not just their first time together, but the first for both of them.

Hope reached her hand behind Josie's head and brought her down for another kiss. She kissed her until she knew that Josie could feel her love and also the need she had to share everything with her.

Allowing her hand to move towards Hope’s center, Josie lifts her hips a little so that both girls are able to slip their fingers into each other's folds. They kept their fingers in the shell, not slipping inside the core just yet. They were making sure to give each other time to adjust to the new feelings. Both touching and being touched this intimately was causing waves of pleasure to course through both girls.

After a few minutes, they allowed their fingers to slip into the fold to explore. The wetness that was found there was enough to cause each girl to release a loud moan.

"God Josie, you feel so amazing."

"Fuck! Hope, you are so wet! I want you, right now!"

"I want to do this at the same. I want our first time to be together.”

With those words, which spoke of the love that they were sharing, each girl slipped a single finger into her lover. Moving slowly in, trying not to hurt each other, they made their way passed their hymens. After pushing in the full length of their fingers, both girls stopped to settle and get use to the feeling. Both could feel the need to give time to adjust to the new sensations.

Both Hope and Josie were able to open their eyes after a few moments. The look of pure bliss on both of the girls faces was enough to let them know that this was the most perfect moment.

Josie leaned down to give Hope a kiss and to feel closer to her as they continued. Attaching her lips in a sweet and sensual kiss, Josie could feel the love and excitement in her bubbling over.

“I love you Hope.”

“I love you too, Josie. Always and Forever.”

The words of love exchanged, they slowly started to move inside each other. They were both going at a slow pace. While they were by no means experts at this, they seemed to fall into a steady rhythm. Both enjoying the building lighting that they felt.

Hope's breath was coming in pants and Josie was doing everything that she could to remain slow. Josie was rocking her hips a little trying to not go to fast but feeling that she needed more.

Hope, feeling the girl on top of her start to move her hips, allowed her own core to start to move as well. The building tightness in her stomach was something that was making her lose her mind to the overwhelming feeling.

The pace started to speed up as both girls were pumping their fingers and moving their centers to meet each thrust as it came.

“Josie, I need m-more.”

Unable to speak in that moment, the brunette nodded her head in agreement. Slowing slightly, to allow for more ease, they both slipped a second finger into their lovers core.

“Ahhhhh! Fuck Hope! I feel so full.”

“Mmmmmm. Josie!”

The tribrid leaned up a bit to kiss her girlfriend. She needed to feel the other girl everywhere and needed to be as attached to her in that moment as she could be. As she did this, she added her thumb on to Josie's clit to up the reaction and to help with the building passion.

Josie moaned at the added friction, which sent a shot of pleasure through her. She took this as an invitation to do the same. While she added her thumb, she also started to pump her fingers in and out of Hope again.

Supple, warm strokes filled each of them as they held desperately to each other. As they each thrust their fingers in a little faster and a bit deeper, they also started to rock their hips to give more friction where they needed it.

The pace of their thrusts quickened. Fingers were curling with each pull of the fingers to amplify the feelings. They were panting as the rhythm of their lovemaking was starting to pick up.

A mix of heavy breathing and pounding hearts are the only sounds that can be heard in the room. The two are so caught up in the feel of this moment that neither wants it to end.

Two fingers buried up to the knuckle and thumbs circling at a fast pace around clits, both girls were at the edge of release. The feeling of a building explosion was taking over.

"So close. Hope please, I'm so close." Josie was begging for release.

"Fuck Josie! Me to! So close baby.”

Josie started to rock her hips a bit more, adding pressure for both her and Hope. The feeling washing over the two was overwhelming.

"Fuck! Yes! That feels so good!”

Hope was encouraged in that moment to go a little fast and press a little harder.

That was the last thing that Josie could take, with that, she came undone screaming Hope’s name.

“Hoooopppppeeee!"

Hearing her lover’s release, was all that was needed to send Hope over the edge and into her own release.

"Josie, fuuuuccckkkkk!"

Josie collapsed into a pile of limbs on top of Hope. Both girls where covered in sweat wearing smiles on their faces. Pulling fingers slowly out of each other, Hope needed to taste Josie in that moment, so she brought her fingers up to her mouth and sucked on them until they were clean. It was the best thing that she had ever had in her mouth.

Josie's face turned pornographic at the sight. She then brought her own fingers up and slowly, one by one licked them, before slipping them into her mouth to suck them clean.

"Fuck that's hot!" Hope leaned her face close to Josie’s and kissed her girlfriend mingling their flavors together and savoring the slowness that this kiss held.

“We have got to do that again, like right now.”

Hope grinned and lifted her lover up and flipped them over, so that she was now looking down at Josie.

“We can do that as many times as you want, for as long as you want. I have an amazing recovery time.”

With a smirk and a giggle, the two started to make love again. They made love in all the many different ways that they could think and long into the night. They were not seen outside of Hope’s room for the next three days.

At which point, the only reason that they opened the door at all was because Lizzie threaten to come in and get them. If that wasn’t enough to make them open the door, she swore that she would bring their father with her.

**T.B.C.**


	14. Darlin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything changes and we all have to grow up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it has been so long since we updated. School was taking over most of my free time until this month and then I had a serve case of writer's block. 
> 
> This is the turning point for this fic, only a few more chapters until the end. I will try to not take as long but with classes already starting in the next couple of weeks, I make no promises.

** 18 Years Old/20 Years Old **

** Graduation Day **

It seemed that it had taken forever to get to this day, but finally, Josie was graduating this afternoon. She was extremely excited and couldn’t wait for it to be over. Not that she wasn’t happy about graduation and hadn’t enjoyed all of the festivities of the past week, but what she really wanted was on the other side of graduation.

** Hope! **

Josie couldn’t help but miss her girlfriend while she was gone. She was just trying to make it through the next hour until Hope got home. 

What Josie didn’t know was that Hope was on her way home to her, with thoughts of her running through her head. It had been an eventful trip, but she was so happy to be coming home to the girl that she loved.

The past few years have been amazing, and Hope couldn’t wait to start the next chapter. With so many changes in her life, she was glad to know that some things would always stay the same.

Hope had graduated two years prior and now worked for the Salvatore School as a recruiter with Caroline. She found the students that would be best suited for the school and went to talk to them, or in some cases the parents, to convince them of why they should come to the school. 

After Hope had turned eighteen and the school along with all of her parent’s and uncle’s holdings were turned over to her, she had sat down with her aunt and Alaric to work out exactly how things were going to be moving forward. They had to figure out where they were together.

Hope assured Alaric that she didn’t want his job, at least not yet. For the time being, she wanted to leave most of the business in the hands of her Aunt Freya, as she had just graduated herself and wanted to be able to go to college and get a job and in general, life experiences outside of monster fighting and the supernatural. She had already talked to her aunt about how everything would be handled and what Hope would be taking an interest in and when she would have to be responsible.

For the most part, Freya would handle everything just as she had been. When she had to have a signature from Hope, she would let her know what was going on and they would talk through everything as they always had. This suited both of them, as Freya knew what she was doing and this was a job that gave her freedom not only to do what she wanted, as Hope fully trusted her, but also the freedom to be with her family.

Hope had truly only taken over one holding in full, the school. This is where she saw her future. She knew that no matter what else she did in her life, she would always feel that this was her place. She had put too much of herself into this place. 

It didn’t hurt that Josie wanted to get her teaching degree and be a teacher here. That was all Hope needed to hear to know what her plan was. With a plan in her mind, and knowing all the players, Hope sat down with Alaric the week after she graduated.

“Alaric, thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I would like to make this a short meeting. Josie wants to get going soon.”

“Ah, you two leave for New Orleans today. That’s right. I guess this means that Lizzie is leaving for Europe today too.”

“Actually, we convinced her and Caroline that we should all spend time together this summer. So Caroline is coming to New Orleans for six weeks and then we are all going to Europe for six weeks. I emailed you about this last week, you know, inviting you to come and spend time with your family.”

“Yeah, I really should check my email one of these days. Or maybe I can get a student secretary, offer it as an elective.”

“I think that would be good, especially if that student were on the Honor Council. You want to make sure that you can trust the with sensitive information.”

Alaric nodded his head. Already lost in thought. Hope smirked and shook her head. The man was a great headmaster and teacher, but how he survived basic life she would never know.

“Well, I wanted to meet with you today to go over some basic information on the school. As you know, now that I am eighteen and have graduated, I have officially taken over all the holdings that have been left for me. My aunts and uncle have also informed me that I will be receiving everything that they have in their portfolios so that I can also get familiar with that.”

Suddenly the older man started to have an expression of worry on his face. He knew that if everything was now turned over to Hope, that this relationship between them was going to be different.

“As for the most part, Aunt Freya will still control the day to day. I have access to everything now if I want, but she is the best of us, so I think that she has it well in hand. I have access to my full funds now, which also means that I have the ability to pretty much do anything I want.”

“And what is it that you want to do Hope?”

“Well, I want to get a job here in Mystic Falls so that I can stay close to Josie. I am taking online classes and will wait to attend a university until after Josie graduates. We can figure out where to go from there.”

The headmaster nodded. That actually sounded like a well thought out plan. He was glad to know that Hope wasn’t going to throw away her future waiting for his daughter. No matter what, the man valued education.

“So, I am going to be the school’s new recruiter. This will allow me the flexible schedule that I want and the freedom to stay here at the school. When I am not on the road, I will be the new instructor, not teacher, just instructor. For the wolves, I will be instructing on hand-to-hand combat and ways to handle aggression and especially helping with the changes for first time shifts. For vampires, we are going to work on bloodlust. Something my family knows a lot about. The witches, ah, well it is time that they learned offensive magic.”

“Absolutely not! I will not allow that at my school! It isn’t safe!”

Taking a deep breath so that she was able to maintain her composure, she allowed for the edge to enter her voice as she spoke. She didn’t want to insult the man before her, but she would make he see first his place and then reason.

“First off Alaric, this is my school, not yours. Secondly, what isn’t safe is that we have deadly and dangerous monsters attacking every week and I am the only one that is absolutely able to handle them. Yes, my Super Squad stepped up and are now better equipped, but if I left today and didn’t come back, what would happen?”

Alaric was at a lost on what to say to that. The whole reason that he built this school was to protect his girls and the students that came after them. But teaching them how to actively fight had never been what he was planning. Defend yes, but never to fight. He had seen too many people that he loves lose their lives one way or another and he just couldn’t do it.

With no answer coming, Hope took this as a chance to drive home her point to the man behind the desk. He needed to understand why there needed to be more classes and the students needed to learn to control themselves completely.

“Look Rick, I don’t want to do this, but let’s be honest, if only between us. We are going to do whatever I want because this is my school. I would rather that you understand and agree with me, but I will do what I feel is best to protect students. If we don’t teach the kids control and how to fight, then we are going to have to watch them die. Look what happen when those paramilitary guys stormed the school and cut us off from out magic. What would have happened if we weren’t able to get the magic back? You weren’t here and the teachers weren’t able to do anything, they had no magic either.”

The headmaster was sitting there and just couldn’t bring his way of thinking around. All he saw was that the girl in front of him wanting to put his daughters in danger.

“Look, how about we compromise for the first semester. We offer the classes only to the higher-level students. Junior and Seniors only. We see how it goes and check the progress. If it works, we keep going. If it doesn’t, we reevaluate. See what is wrong. But Dr. Saltzman, you know that we can’t protect them forever. The closest that we can get is teaching them how to protect themselves.”

It took a while, but Alaric eventually agreed to the proposal. After two years, the program is going strong, and they have brought in other instructors and teachers as well. It is one of the most popular classes and they are working on bringing it to some of the lower classes in more theoretical situations. 

Hope has been going out into the field a few times a month, she never stays away more than a few days typically and more often than not, she brings the potential students back with her. Since Hope started to recruit for the school, the student population had almost doubled. They were adding an extra dorm annex for next Fall semester to accommodate.

Hope was just now returning after being away on one of her longest trips yet, this one lasting a week. She hated being away for so long, but this was a special case. Caroline had called her in as back up. She had found a group of teenage vampires that had all been changed within a month of each other and the one that turned them had been killed. It had been a rough time, but in the end, they convinced all ten of them to come and give the school a try.

Hope was so happy to be home. She had a few things that she wanted to do, first of which, she wanted to find Josie. 

“Hope!”

Speaking of her angel. Hope turned in just enough time to catch Josie as she jumped into her arms and wrapped her arms and legs around the shorter girl. Hope slipped her hands under her girlfriend’s thighs to support her weight. 

“Hey babe. Miss me?”

Josie leaned over and crashed their lips together. Using her tongue to open the other girls mouth she wanted to get her fill of her girlfriend’s taste. She had missed her so much.

“I swear, why is it that every time I see you two you have your tongues shoved down each other’s throats?”

Pulling back slowly and leaving little kisses in their wake, Hope, never letting go of Josie, turns her head and smiles.

Josie continued to kiss on Hope’s neck. Leaving little nibbles and licks in a trail.

“Nice to see you to Lizzie. How have you been doing?”

Lizzie gave a little smirk and crossed her arms. She shook her head and gave a short little laugh.

“I’m good. Ready to graduate and get out of this place and off to California and USC. It is going to be so nice to be somewhere that I can get a tan year-round.”

“Oh, you know you are going to miss us blondie.”

“I’ll miss Josie that’s for sure.”

Hope smirked and reached out a hand to pull the blonde in to a side hug.

“Unhand my woman! Or at least let me in on the group hug.”

The three girls all laughed as they heard MG behind them. Opening their arms, MG was welcomed into the hug between Josie and Lizzie.

“Ok, this is getting too mushy for me.”

Hope pulled back from the group and held her hands up in the air. 

“You guys continue your mush fest. I need to check in with Alaric anyway. I have to debrief after this last trip.”

Josie turned to her girlfriend with a pout firmly in place. She hated that Hope had to run off already. She wanted some alone time with her after being separated for a week.

“Do you have to do that now? You just got home, and I will be tied up with graduation activities all day. I only have free time until lunch.”

Hope pulled her girl into a hug and held her close. She had missed her so much and wanted nothing more than to spend the morning with her. Maybe she could just meet up with Alaric after lunch.

Just as she was pulling back and going to tell Josie that she would spend the morning with her, she felt a hand fall on her shoulder.

“Hope, I’m glad I ran into you. I need to talk to you about that new group of kids that are due to arrive with Caroline later today.”

With one last longing look at the brunette in front of her, she turned and followed the headmaster to his office.

****

As the students were filing into their seats, their families were snapping pictures of their children’s every move. Alaric stood at the podium in the regalia as headmaster waiting to start the ceremony. Emma and Caroline sat on the stage behind the podium as well as Josie.

Josie was extremely nervous to be where she was, as she had to give the closing speech as the valedictorian. Looking out in the crowd, brown eyes met blue, and Josie felt her whole body relax. With Hope watching, she knew that there was nothing that she couldn’t do.

“Families, teachers, students. Thank you all for being here today to celebrate our graduates. The road to get to this day has not always been an easy one, however our graduates faced every challenge head on and ready to fight. We gather here today as these children walk out of their childhood and into their adulthood.”

There was a collective cheer from the gathered audience from these words. The applause sounded like a thunderclap it was so loud.

One by one the students turned graduates walked on to the stage and accepted their diplomas. Shaking hands with the headmaster as they flipped their tassels before going to take their seats. Once everyone was seated, and had calmed down, Alaric called their attention again.

“To end our ceremony, we have a speech from our valedictorian, Josette Saltzman.”

As Josie stood up to take the podium, she took a deep breath knowing that, while this was not a life-or-death moment, it was one of those important moments. One where they set their childhood into the past and welcomed their future.

“I have always disliked endings. No matter what kind of ending, being happy or sad, it is never enough, and I am always left wanting just a little bit more. However, no matter how much I don’t want things to be over and for them to keep going, endings are inevitable. Of all endings, good-byes are always the hardest for me. But then I remind myself, the most worthwhile things in life are often the most difficult. Just because we are leaving the safety of the school that we have come to think of as our home, doesn’t mean that we are leaving behind everything that matters. Yes, it is hard and scary to move forward into the unknown but those that have shaped us and helped to make us who we are will always be with us. They are our solid ground, our North Stars, those are the ones that we will carry with us no matter where we are. We keep the part of them that has changed us and the memories we made with them. Today we leave this school, and we say good-bye to the world that we have known, but we are moving forward to new adventures and new memories. This isn’t an ending, it’s our new beginning.” 

The room erupted in cheers. Caps went flying into the air and thanks to the witches in the group, they came back down with a shower of confetti. 

Josie hugged her father on stage and then ran to her sister and hugged her as they jumped up and down in celebration. They were engulfed in another hug as Caroline lifted them off the ground. 

“Mom! Put us down! We aren’t five anymore!” 

Lizzie cried in indignation at being lifted and held by her mother.

Caroline looked at her daughters and you could see the sheer delight and pride that was shining through her eyes. 

“I am so proud of you two! My babies all grown up and ready to take on the world.”

As much as Lizzie and Josie wanted to be adults, there was just something about Caroline that made them smile and glow at the fawning.

“Thanks Mom.”

Hope smiled as she took a few pictures of the three of them together. After giving them their moment of family time, the tribrid walked over to her girl and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“Congratulations Josie. Your speech was amazing and very moving.”

Josie leaned in and kissed her girlfriend. She had been missing these lips and wasn’t given any time with her before now, so she was taking the opportunity.

“Here they go again. So, disgusting.”

“Oh, hush Lizzie. Leave your sister alone.”

The two girls pulled back from each other sharing a goofy smile with each other. Leaning foreheads together and enjoying the moment.

“What do you girls have planned for your night? Your father and I were hoping that we could take you out to dinner to celebrate.”

“Well, there is a graduation party out at the Old Mill tonight. Other than that, I think I’m free.”

Hope had to think fast because she had wanted to be alone with Josie tonight, for at least a while. It seemed that Josie was of a similar mind and the quicker thinker.

“Actually, Hope just got home, and we have a tradition for when she returns that we have dinner together.”

“Well, she is more than welcome to join us.”

Caroline was smiling and all three girls could tell that she really wanted to have this dinner with her girls and she was not one to take ‘no’ for an answer. 

Hope not wanting to be the one to cause the issue thought fast to come up with a solution.

“How about we have dinner a bit later. Give us about an hour or two. That will give Lizzie time to get ready for the party tonight and Josie and I can spend a bit of time together before.”

Caroline was so happy she pulled Hope in for a hug. 

“I’ll go get your dad and we will meet you at the entrance. Text me when you are on your way there.”

Caroline walked away, waving to students and graduates as she went. The three girls smiled at each other. 

“I’ll leave you two to your alone time. See you out front in about an hour.”

Hope turned to Josie and gave her a loving smile. She had missed her so much and was so glad that she was home for the Summer to spend it with her girl before they went off to college.

“Hey, take a walk with me?”

The taller girl leaned over and brushed a kiss onto Hope’s cheek. Leaning further over, she whispered into her ear.

“I would love to take a walk with you. Maybe we can find a quiet spot.”

The older girl smiled and took a hold of Josie’s hand, tugging on her slightly to have her follow. 

The girls walked, seemingly without destination for a few minutes They were wrapped in each other and enjoyed the quiet that they so rarely got to experience. The moment was perfect.

Within a few minutes, they had ended up at the lake. Avoiding the dock where Hope knew most people were likely to find them, she turned them towards a little alcove.

Before walking into the alcove, Hope stopped and turned to take both of Josie’s hands. Looking into the deep chocolate pools that she loved so much she felt warmth take over her and leaned in to share a sweet kiss. 

“I love you so much Josie. I can’t even image what my life would be without you in it.”

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing that you will never have to find out.”

A smile spread on Hope’s face and the butterflies in her stomach erupted and a warmth engulfed her entire body.

“You trust me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Close your eyes and don’t open them until I say.”

Josie gave Hope a curious look but did as she asked. Closing her eyes, Josie reached out her hand to take Hope’s hand. 

Slowly, Hope started to walk forward slowly. Walking only a short distance before stopping. She gave a squeeze to the hands that she was holding and then released them.

Josie turned her head when she could no longer sense Hope next to her.

“Hope? Are you still here? What’s going on? Hope, where are you?”

“Open your eyes and see for yourself.”

Opening her eyes, Josie nearly fell backwards from the sight in front of her. There were candles and flowers everywhere. Petals raining down genteelly like snow. The most stunning sight of all, was Hope, the woman that she loved more than life, down on one knee with a ring in her hand.

“Josie, I have loved you since the day I met you. When you were in trouble, I wanted to be your hero. When I was at my darkest, you were my light. You kissing me when we were kids was the best thing to ever have happened to me, and every day with you has only gotten better. Please, won’t you make every day for the rest of my life the best day? Josie Saltzman, will you marry me?”

Speechless and with tears streaming down her face, Josie nodded her head. This was everything that she could have ever dreamed it to be.

Standing up, Hope walked over to her love and placed the ring at the tip of her finger. Giving her a smirk, that only the tribrid could produce.

“I won’t put it on until you verbally, tell me.”

“You’re a jerk, but you’re my jerk and I love you. Yes Hope, Yes I will marry you.”

Slipping the ring on, Hope turned to capture Josie’s lips in a kiss full of yearning, and love and promises of the future.

*****

The girls barely made it to the met-up spot in time to leave for dinner. They were so absorbed in each other that they couldn’t think of anything else. If it hadn’t been for Lizzie calling Josie when she was heading that way, they would have completely forgotten.

When they arrived to meet Alaric and Caroline for dinner, the girls were smiling so much that there was no way that everyone wasn’t going to notice.

“What are you two so smiley about?”

Lizzie was starting at her twin hard. She knew that there was something going on and it was something big.

“We’ll tell you once we meet up with your parents. It’s something the whole family should hear.”

Lizzie smirked at her twin and Hope. She had a feeling that she knew what the announcement was going to be, but she would let them have their moment. 

Caroline had gotten reservations, how no one would ask, at the nice Italian restaurant on the outskirts of the town. When you wanted to celebrate with a little bit of fancy, this was the only place in town to go.

After being seated and having their drink orders the waiter left the small group to themselves.

“I am so proud of you girls! I can’t believe that my babies are all grown up and graduated from high school. The pride that your father and I feel for you today is nothing short of bursting.”

The twins accepted the complement in their own unique ways. Josie blushed and turned her head to Hope. Lizzie, well Lizzie never was shy. She preened and sat up a bit straighter acting as if she deserved nothing less.

Throughout the dinner, everyone was having a wonderful time. Laughing and sharing stories about high school and what they were looking forward to most in the future. 

“So, you two said that you have something to tell us, but you wanted to wait for the whole family. Well, we are all here.”

Josie shot a glare at her sister. Sometimes that girl could be so annoying and pushy. 

“Yes, we do have a small announcement. Honestly, we wanted to wait, but Lizzie never could wait for anything.”

The blonde smirked at her sister knowing that she was going to get what she wanted. Caroline perked up and turned her full attention on the two girls sitting across from her.

Hope looked at Josie and nodded to her letting her know that it was perfectly ok with her if she wanted to tell them. She wanted the world to know that Josie had agreed to be hers.

Turning back to her family, Josie smiled as wide as her face would allow as she held out her hand to show of the ring that she was wearing.

“Earlier today, Hope asked me to marry her, and I said yes.”

“Oh my goodness!!!”

Caroline screamed and was so excited for her older daughter. She reached across the table and hugged both girls tightly.

“Cutting off my air mom.”

As Caroline loosened her grip, Lizzie started to ask questions, wanting to know everything.

“OK, tell us every single detail! How did she propose? Was it romantic? Did she screw it up?”

Josie giggled like the girl that she was and happily replayed every moment

Lizzie and Caroline were already trying to get the girls to talk about dresses and flowers and when they would have the wedding and all of the millions of little details.

Everything was going perfect. This night couldn’t be going any better, except for one thing, Alaric. He was being even more quiet than normal. He had made no comment about the engagement, in fact, he had barely spoken at all and he wasn’t eating. The most astonishing part of all, he wasn’t drinking anything. 

He had been like this all night. The longer that he sat there like a zombie, the more that Hope just knew that there was something wrong. She was trying to write it off as he was just doing that dad thing where he didn’t want to think about his daughters being all grown up. However, she just knows that isn’t what this is. She had seen this look many times on this man. There was something that he was trying to hide and fighting to do it.

“Ok Alaric, out with it.”

Everyone at the table turned to look at Hope, who’s eyes never left Alaric, who for his part was trying to not look at anyone.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“No, you don’t get to do that. What is going on? What’s wrong?”

“Hope, this isn’t the time or place. We can discuss this later.”

The tribrid was having none of it. She wanted to know what it was that was causing the look on the man’s face. He should be celebrating with his girls right now. The look that he had said that he was worrying about something instead.

Before anything could progress, Caroline broke the tension. She was always good at that, but this time if fell a little short. She knew what was going on, Hope saw the look that she was shooting to Alaric.

“It’s not something that we want to talk about in public. We would have preferred to keep this as a happy occasion, however, since it appears that we can’t, why don’t we all head back to the school. We can talk about it there.”

The fact that Caroline and Alaric weren’t brushing this off just let Hope and the twins know that there really was something happening. This was enough to cause all three of them to start to look back and forth between themselves.

After paying the bill the group headed back to the school and after arriving headed straight for Alaric’s office. Everyone taking a seat, the sides seem to be clear. The twins sitting on the couch with Hope holding Josie’s hand, while Alaric and Caroline were standing behind the giant wooden desk.

“Before we begin, I just want to say that you girls mean the world to your mother and me. There is nothing in this world that we wouldn’t do if it meant protecting you.”

“We can protect ourselves dad. We are strong and this is what this school has taught us to do.”

With sad eyes, the headmaster looked to the woman at his side. Together they had spent eighteen years protecting their daughters from the past and the future. Keeping them safe behind the walls of the school that they built for just this purpose.

Caroline squeezed his shoulder and took over for the next part.

“Do you girl know why I have been recruiting so heavily for the school all these years? I mean, with the donation from Hope and her family, we really don’t need to take in new students for the tuition. The years, through all of the students that we have helped and sent back into the world, we have built the kind of reputation that brings students to us, for the most part.”

“I thought that you were working on getting the students that may not have heard about the school. Or the ones that needed to have a little convincing to come. Isn’t that why Hope has been helping you?”

Hope was curious about this herself. She thought this was what was happening. When Caroline had talked to her about becoming a recruiter for the school, she wasn’t sure about it at first. She had wanted to stay close to the school and to Josie. Caroline had explained that this would allow her to build relationships with the students that would be attending the school that she was going to run, that helping her with the recruiting after graduation would be good. Also, she had told her that there would always be those few that didn’t have parents that wanted what was best for them. Some would need someone to show them the way. 

“How much do you know about your biological mother’s coven?”

Lizzie and Josie looked at each other, sharing a twin moment, talking without words.

“We know it was the Gemini Coven and that it is the only one that creates siphon witches.”

“And we know that they are all dead because of our psycho uncle who murder everyone and tried to murder us.”

Taking a deep breath, Alaric stood up and leaned on the desk steading himself. He really was hoping to never have this conversation. 

“The Gemini Coven is also the only coven that picks it’s next leaders from twins using a ritual called The Merge.”

Hope is not liking this at all. This didn’t sound like anything good. Instinctually, she moves closer to Josie and wraps her arm around her shoulder and takes her hand in her free one.

“The Merge determines who the stronger of the twins is. The stronger will absorb the weaker. They will then be the new leader of coven. which will determine who will lead the coven, and only one will survive. That’s why your mother’s always traveling the globe. Trying to find a solution.”

“And we haven’t found anything in eighteen years.”

“So, on your 22nd birthday, we will lose our daughters.”

“So, what you are saying is that for eighteen years you kept this to yourself instead of asking for help and now we only have four years to solve this or one of the twins die and the other has to live with the fact that she killed her twin?”

Alaric and Caroline looked at each other with sadness and fear on their face. Not knowing what to say since, in fact that is exactly what was happening.

“I won’t allow it! We will stop this!”

All eyes in the room turned to Hope in that moment, though her eyes were only on Josie’s. Looking into those deep brown eyes that she loved.

“I promised you an eternity together. I always keep my promises.”

** T.B.C **

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you are liking this! Anything that you would like to see happen?
> 
> Ideas for songs I should listen to?


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